Self Destruction Lies In Numbers
by WeLcOmE2pArAdIsE
Summary: The world was three: Her. Him. And speed. Epilogue SasuSaku
1. The Drinking 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

I should, though.

**Rating:** Mature

**Ages:** 17/18.

Just read it...summaries are difficult for me.

* * *

_Prologue: The Drinking Eight_

"Now _get _the _fuck _out!"

Her piercing, utterly teeth-grinding order echoed through the village, which had only begun to slow down for the night; her absolutely furious voice accented 'get' and her curse in a most vicious way. There was no need to _see_ the young woman to know that someone was very close to being nothing but a mere memory from her wrath. Lights that had been just clicked off now clicked on abruptly, with shuffling and the sound of windows opening to accompany it as curious children and tired parents obnoxiously stuck their heads from the comfort of home to satisfy their wonder.

Strangely dull sounds, as though a body were being shoved against a wooden, bolted door, now were heard from, predictably, the inside of an entrance to the local tavern; furious snarls of a woman at the drop-off of her patience and coarse language, presumably from an older man, were heard, along with someone in the background positively shrieking with indignation.

A few more witty exchanges, a scream from a banshee, and another loud thump, and the sound of splintering wood cut through the night air and caused late-night stragglers in the street to jump and cower as though being shot at. Whether a human natured reaction or the fact that many were nursing a hangover and did not like the noise, young and old alike glared disgustedly down at the heap of rags that had been forcibly punted through the wooden door. The pile of rags sat up, and rubbed a gloved hand through it's matted hair, presumably unwashed, and stared blearily through glazed eyes at the doorway, where light was flooding onto the ground, silhouetting a young woman of average height and build.

She pointed a thin but powerful finger at the man, who half-heartedly raised a hand to his face as if to ward off a blow.

"I expect better from someone of _your_ status," she hissed, trying to instill a bit of guilt in this normally easygoing man; he was a regular at this particular bar. Although feeling a bit shamed for yelling at him, she had to look as if she really gave a shit whether the bar was trashed or not, so she threw his shoe–which had fallen off during the scuffle–out after him and shut the door; the light disappeared from the ground, throwing a shadowy figure's face into darkness. Slowly, the curious minds began to think of sleep, and the myriad of lights scattered across Kohona Village began to disappear as if they were candles, snuffed out by a breath of wind.

The shadowy figure sighed; that bitch could _never _help the drama, and he had the distinct feeling she was hanging around Yamanaka for too long. Letting out a breath and an indistinct "Hn", he leaned against the wall with a quiet creak, and realized someone on the other side was doing the same thing. Shrugging a shoulder to hitch his collar higher over his neck, he listened–

The young woman inside the dimly lit bar let out a groan and blew a strand of bubble gum pink hair out of her dirty face.

"You're welcome," she huffed, raising her head to glare the tall blonde that had begun to slink quietly behind the bar, hoping to be unnoticed; she stopped and turned around, safely behind the long counter in case her friend decided to start throwing bottles or knives.

"Sor–"

"Save it," the shorter one interrupted and with a heavy sigh, pushed her back off the wall and stretched her arms toward the ceiling, every now and then shooting daggers at the blonde, who was currently wiping the inside of shot glasses clean, carefully surveying for smudges.

Abruptly, the pink-haired girl let out a groan and threw her arms out dramatically, as if she was preparing for a lightening bolt to strike her down. "God, Ino, you're the one who _wanted_ this job. Grow some balls and do it right."

"Cute," Ino replied, tossing her head to let her blond hair cascade down her shoulders; she stuck her tongue out at her childhood friend and sighed. "I was doing this for money...I mean, who couldn't love the smell of piss and sake, the drunken fights we break up-"

"_Who_ breaks up?" Sakura interjected, picking a broken chair off the dusty ground and inspecting it to see if it was still usable.

"–And now we've thrown our friends into the mix and gotten them drunk off their asses eight ways to Sunday now too," she finished, stacking cleaned and smudge-less shot glasses of various colors into a cabinet. Turning, she smirked and put elbows on the dirty bar counter (that Sakura was supposed to wipe down) and rolled her eyes. "And as for growing balls, Sakura, I'm sure you'd like that. If I were a man I'd _still_ be sexy as hell."

Sakura let out a "Ha!" of disbelief and dragged the chair after her as she walked up to the counter and sat heavily on one of the bar stools, rubbing her eyes. The shadowy figure that still leaned against the outside wall allowed himself to quietly chuckle; he leaned his head back against the cold wood and sighed heavily as he closed his eyes as though it had been a particularly tiresome day for the young man. It had. In the dark, he allowed pain to make it's way onto his face as he grimaced, his usually stoic expression contorted into one of distress. _Damn this headache..._although his newfound hobby of drinking usually left him with headaches from a nasty hangover, the resident medic in the house would take pity on him and give him something to relieve it so, as she insisted was the only reason she let him have it, do his goddamned job so she could do hers. But this wasn't his normal, ever-pounding headache caused by his stupid attachment to the bottle, no, it was his lovely, piercing tension headaches that had been taking a toll on him ever since his new rank had been confirmed. And although the stupid blonde that he roomed with was now equal with him too, the fact remained that combined with the drinking, the stress, and the constant emotional battle he waged with himself–particularly that bitch of a medic he was now living with–he was now irritable almost all the time.

God I can't believe I'm going to be 18.

Truthfully, it was not that old compared to most, but _holy shit_ was it a snap back to reality. If _he_ was 18, that meant the 12 year old Naruto had been 6 long years ago. He had gotten so much strong in both body and mind, but lately, after turning 17, he had acquired a habit to soothe his depression and stress; drinking at the bar that Ino and Sakura worked part time in. Still the number-one, hyperactive blonde thick-skulled idiot, but with a slightly more perverted mind did he emerge, technically underage, in full glory.

Ino and Sakura were still the loving-hating enemies, as always, and it would never change. But the reasons were merely growing pains and were done with a less vindictive nature now; now that both had given up on trying to break through to him. He almost missed it.

But sure as hell not from the screaming blonde banshee they call a ninja.

"Don't get soft, Uchiha," he whispered to himself, his eyes squeezed shut in pain and the annoyance of his relentless conscious. When he began to delve deep within his screwed up mind to seek answers, he was tossed out on his ass by another face of his many sided personality, preventing him from ever getting anywhere.

"Eight–fucking–teen," he said quietly, applying heavy pressure to his temple and gritting his teeth. Only a few more minutes; he did not dare go in there with only Sakura, the banshee, and a besotted Naruto, who tended to rant loudly and blurt out Sasuke's rare confidences (which Sasuke regretted doing long ago), which ultimately led to awkwardness from everyone.

A cabinet opened, two clinking glasses, and heavy sighs.

"So," Ino began, filling Sakura's glass up to the brim, even though Sakura hadn't specified how much she wanted _and _technically underage, but Tsunade never minded. "Feeling the age yet, forehead?"

Sakura did not react to her now overused nickname; she sipped her drink and absentmindedly grabbed a toothpick and began to stir it. "Nah, Pig, I suppose 18 can't be any worse than 17. I've seen enough of the organs of a person to map it out, I stay up late watching friends undergo painful reconstructive surgery, an apprentice to Tsunade, who spends more of that oh-so-helpful hangover medicine on herself than actual patients. I'm fine." The contrary to her point, she closed her eyes and let the liquid swirl in her mouth and caress her lips;

Ino let out a high-pitched laugh and choked on her drink, snorting in a way that made her live up to her nickname "Pig", and would embarrass her thoroughly had anyone important crossed the threshold of the tavern that was now nearly empty besides the two friends and Naruto, who was passed out on a table, surrounded by empty glasses and had not moved for a couple hours. Neither woman was concerned; if he was on a mission his habit would not be supported; it was only for the knowledge of stress that the girls gave into to his demands, although he was underage too. Out of the usual crowd that would stop by sometime that night, only Lee and Tenten were of legal age.

"Well speak of the devil!" Ino burst out dramatically, already fairly tight (for her habit of sneaking drinks herself while serving others was in full swing after the stressful tirade of four back-to-back missions), slamming her hand down on the bar that Sakura had still not wiped down, the glass clinking noisily; the shadow, still waiting outside, inwardly cursed and clutched his temple.

"Already, Ino?" Tenten teased, motioning for the girls to take a seat at a table with her and Lee, who removed his coat, flung it over the back of his chair, and, spotting Sakura, subtly stretched his extremely defined arm muscles. Sakura smirked and joined him at the table.

"Who the _hell_ are all these people?" Naruto burst out abruptly, sitting up; his eyes were severely bloodshot and he pointed with a shaking finger.

"Go to sleep, Naruto," Sakura said quietly, as not to yell and cause him to wince.

"Gotcha," he agreed, raising a thumbs-up and rocking slightly before letting his face fall into the table with a loud, strangely hollow 'thunk'.

"Ino, girl, you want me to do that? I'm not getting drunk off my ass again...I have to train," Tenten asked.

Ino let out a giggle and swayed slightly as she carried drinks for both Tenten and Lee, and knowing Ino, they were presumably full and straight liquor.

"_I'll _help her with that," a voice from the doorway offered insistently, wearing his usual grimace and rolled his eyes at the sight of Ino, who was still swaying as if dancing in the wind.

"Looky, we got _all _the under-agers in the bar ta' night," Tenten said, laughing, as Shikamaru muttered quietly, "Ugh, look at her, what a drag," as Ino began to attempt to tap dance. Relieving his friend of the drinks, he steered the blonde by a shoulder and forced her into a chair; carefully clearing any empty glasses away from her; he took a seat next to her and sighed. "I've only got 3 more months...geez..."

"I don't really care," Tenten replied, eyeing Lee next to her, who was determined to make his refined muscles noticeable and a topic of worthy conversation. "And honestly, there's no difference between being 18 than 17 besides the fact that you are technically an adult and can now _legally_ act stupid and be held responsible. Of course, it may take a toll on your psyche," she added, nodding toward Naruto. "He's got a while and he's already feeling it."

"I'll kick this bad habit eventually...it's fairly new to my lifestyle anyway," Sakura said, staring at her glass as though ready to drown herself in it's contents; it was taking quite a bit of willpower not to drink it.

"It's stress," Tenten said knowledgeably, watching Shikamaru quietly prod Ino to a decent, presentable sitting position; it didn't take much for her to get buzzed and ironically, she was the least tolerant of it all, despite the fact she worked around it all day. "And Tsunade doesn't mind, does she?"

The table was alive with laughter as this thought sunk in; Sakura laughed, but pushed her drink away all the same; Ino giggled obnoxiously and swayed left to right, hitting Sakura's shoulder and Shikamaru's, who gave her a pained look and distinctly muttered his famous line under his breath; Lee had not spoken yet, but abandoned the pretext of making his muscles a topic of conversation and watched Sakura laugh, knowing she was covering up her stress inside. Frankly, he was no better; none of them were. The ties between villages were hanging by a thread at this point in time; with many of these ninja around the table having extremely close ties with their former Sensei's, not to mention current mission leaders, the worries of the village were spreading, and rumors abound, one by one, seemingly random murders had been carried out within the village. It was frightening, but the general public had not been informed, and it did not seem to matter anymore; the truth was leaking out.

Naruto gave a loud groan that caught the attention of all at the table; Sakura swivelled her head in his direction and slapped Ino's hand away from her drink, which she still had not touched aside from that original sip that had sent the blonde into hysterics. He raised his head and blearily gazed at the five drinking partners seated around the circular table, then looked around the room, and back again at the ninja, who were watching him in puzzlement.

"What _time_ is it?" he whined, a slurred edge to his words. "I have...to go to...mission...early..." He continued to speak quietly to himself in a drunken voice, occasionally muttering other recognizable names. Tenten giggled, Lee shook his head with a chuckle, Ino was still giggling in a high-pitched, besotted way, Shikamaru rolled his eyes once again, and Sakura heaved a heavy sigh.

"Just leave him," she muttered, turning her head away. "I'll pick him up before I leave; I have to wipe down the counter-"

"I can do that," Ino interjected, shaking her head like a besotted dog and reaching a placating hand toward her friend.

"No," Sakura immediately replied, nudging her drink farther out of Ino's reach; her hand had started to inch toward the still fairly full glass. "You're drunk off your ass again, and I already have to take Naruto. Shikamaru will lug your ass home," she continued, glancing around Ino's slumped form and nodding to the latter, who looked as though he would rather have his teeth pulled. "Starting tomorrow, we're gonna try to break this habit."

Abruptly, Naruto threw himself into a seat between Sakura and Tenten, glass in hand and staring wildly around at them all, his blonde hair a mess of unkempt spikes and his bright cerulean orbs standing out further against his bloodshot eyes. With a lopsided smile, he waved his glass under her nose and said, "One more, I swear, then I'm going to bed early!"

The table erupted in laughter again, but that laughter was not directed toward him. On more than one occasion had each of them made an idiot of themselves, and thankfully, these eight ninja had become so close over the years that they had the decency not to blackmail and gossip about the strange events that went on in this little tavern after hours.

Sakura sighed and patted his head like a dog, then gently removed the glass from his fingers and placed it on the floor. "You're going to be part of our abstinence plan too, Naruto, now go to sleep."

He sulked like a little child wanting sweets and pouted, much to Sakura's delight and embarrassment; she loved when he acted like a little child, but he could take it to a point where it was embarrassing. Lee was watching the two friends with a strange look on his face, but replaced it with a genuine, warm smile and began, "So, Sakura-"

Sakura looked up to her friend but almost immediately stood up and looked over his head; a loud shattering of glass had pierced the friendly atmosphere, and everyone at the table, including Naruto, to find Hinata Hyuga, pupil-less eyes wide and scared to death as she took in the sight of everyone in the vicinity staring at her; presumably her glass had dropped to the floor in her want of not being seen or noticed.

Everyone smiled at the sight of Hinata; it was a fight of tooth and nail when it came to dragging this girl out of her anti-social rut, and after moving in with Tenten and Lee, they had insisted she come out with them at least twice a week, to slowly break her emotional walls down. Drinking remained a bit of a kibosh in the Hyuga's book, but at least she had taken to not covering herself up so much.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried happily and stumbled out of his seat and toward her, who, predictably, blushed at the sight of Naruto and all the people, who all smiled. Sakura gave Naruto a disapproving glare; whether it was because she was angry that he was drunk or because seconds earlier the hyperactive blonde and been admittedly fixing her with his full undivided attention, no one could tell, but in light of recent painful events, many suspected the latter; Lee in particular surveyed her expression as Naruto slung an arm around Hinata and dragged her to the table, and she was still blushing furiously.

"Want anything?" Tenten asked politely, gesturing to the empty glasses on the table. Naruto grinned stupidly at the shy girl, and Hinata pressed her fingertips together and stuttered, "May-may be just a little, a sip." Immediately her face was as red as those tomatoes that their last member of their drinking crew loved so much. Only one was still missing.

"Gotcha," Tenten replied, and Lee jumped up to help, a meaningful look on his face; luckily Tenten caught it and obliged as he dropped his voice and they walked toward the back, conversing in whispers.

"How has your day been, Hinata?" Sakura asked kindly, her eyes darting from Hinata's face (to seem polite when she spoke to people) to Naruto, who had his arm loosely slung around Hinata and was nuzzling her the way a dog did. Sakura did not have anything against Hinata. Shikamaru was by no means an idiot in any way, and sensed the tension in the air that hovered over the table like an ominous presence, and that tension only intensified as heavy footsteps crossed the threshold and the ninja (other than Lee and Tenten, who were still 'getting Hinata's drink') turned to see a tall man in a long, dark green overcoat with a high collar walk slowly into the room. He surveyed the crowd; whether he admitted it or not, they were his friends, and he could at least do them the courtesy of drinking with them once in a while.

Sakura's lip jerked irritably, while her body made a strange movement, a mild sort of seizure and her nostrils flared. Sasuke merely stared through her as he always did, a pained smirk on his face to disguise his now piercing headache, complete with sharp neck pains that left him breathless.

"Sit down," she said in an annoyed voice, pushing out a chair across from her with her foot; as he removed his coat, she peered into her glass; it was still full. He let his coat hang from the back of a chair and hunched a bit over the table to push his shoulders against his neck:

Sakura narrowed her eyes at his hunched figure, then grabbed her full glass and shoved it down the toward him; automatically his hand went out to clench it, his white fingers wrapped around the perspiring glass of liquor. "Drink that."

He obliged after a moment, drinking slowly and deeply to distract him from his painful headache while the table watched him silently. The only solace he allowed himself was a pleased "Hn", which meant 'Good, but I don't thank you'.

Lee and Tenten reappeared through the back doorway and stopped at the sight of their table; everyone was watching the silent battle of hate raging between the stoic Uchiha and the fiery Haruno medic. Tenten gently removed Hinata's drink from Lee's shaking fingers; the glass would have stood no chance against his powerful crushing fists that he clenched mere seconds later. _That asshole is in _**my** _seat, staring at Sakura like a fucking crazy animal. That bastard doesn't deserve her, and he doesn't deserve us, or any friends. _And although Sasuke had helped him many times in the past, the fact remained that with the things he put Sakura through and everybody else, not to mention turning his back on the Hidden Leaf Village and suddenly reappearing, Lee did not have very much sympathy in his heart for this stoic piece of shit that spit on the world every day and all who inhabited it.

And yet–

Sakura still liked him, and he might have been the only one who believed it anymore. Ino, Tenten, Naruto, Shikamaru and even Hinata were convinced that she hated his living guts when he spoke them about it, but Lee was not sure. In fact, he was not sure that Sakura's attitude was even her. But she _had_ grown up quite a bit since Sasuke's departure, and maybe Sasuke was liking her thick skin just a bit more.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, letting that healing liquor course through him to ease his pain, then opened them and placed his elbows on the table, his chin on his interlocked fingers, and he surveyed her with a look of dislike and indifference. She leaned on one elbows and let her chin rest in her palm, and shot daggers at him with her round, jade eyes and they simply stared.

Lee and Tenten quietly joined the crowd; Tenten smiled at Hinata and handed her the glass, while Lee shot a fierce glare at Sasuke's back and grabbed another chair from a different table, careful to bang it around with unnecessary noise, but Sasuke did not even glance.

The only ones who could not sense the tension were Ino, who was trying to catch Sasuke's eye but failed, and toppled backwards off the chair with a laugh, and Naruto, who was still nuzzling Hinata in a way reminiscent of a puppy. Hinata was patting his head, but she struggled to start a much-needed conversation with Tenten, who obliged after glancing at the two old teammates' silent hate match, and Shikamaru and Lee fell into stride without a further hitch, trying to speak loud to mask the conversation that was now taking place across the table–

"So are you actually going to stay home tonight?" Sakura asked brusquely, putting out her hand to catch the glass that he slid back across the table at her. There was barely a swallow left. His eyes told her to finish it. She drained it and returned the glass to him in the same fashion.

"Hn,". That meant 'Yes, I am."

"Will you be leaving early, or should I expect you at breakfast?" Sakura asked.

He raised his eyes to her with a questioning look in them.

"Naruto should be home, but I don't know about Kakashi Sensei," Sakura continued, little worry lines etching themselves in her forehead. "I don't know _what_ he's been up to lately."

"Ah," Sasuke said, the glass still in his hand; he raised it to his lips and simply pretended to take a sip of what was not there, just to rile her up by placing his lips exactly where hers had been seconds before.

"Okay then," she replied, nodding, trying to disguise the smirk making it's way onto her face. It was like trying to speak to a boulder or a wall...but this man was of action and not words.

The ninja who were fairly sober watched this scene unfold in confusion. They hated each other, and yet the actions proved more than the words that tumbled out of their mouths; Sasuke's words usually meant more than Sakura's, for she was constantly talking.

This had been going on ever since Sasuke's return.

"Huzzah!" Naruto broke the silence with a loud battle cry and slid sideways out of his chair, while Hinata simply looked down at him with a small smile. She had not touched her drink, due to the fact that she had been fearfully watching the confrontation out of the corner of her eye as she attempted to make small talk with Tenten. Sakura broke her gaze with Sasuke and stood up, yawning and picking Naruto off the ground; she slid his arm around her neck and heaved him to his feet.

"Shikamaru," Sakura said pointedly, and he abandoned his half-finished drink and huffed. Begrudgingly, he lifted Ino off the floor fairly easily and carried her bridal style toward the door, but stopped as Sakura said "Wait."

She dragged the lifeless Naruto with her and slapped a small bottle into his hand. "Make her take this, it'll help."

Shikamaru stared from the bottle to Ino with a look of utter confusion. "How do you expect _me_ to get her to take this?"

Sakura shrugged and grinned. "You live with her...you probably know her habits as well as I do. Find a way."

Shikamaru huffed again and muttered, "Ugh, she's drunk, what a _drag_," before carrying the tall blonde out the door, not noticing (or maybe not caring) her head slam against the doorframe on the way out.

"See ya later, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke," Tenten recited, taking Lee by the elbow and steering him toward the door; Lee was pointedly glaring at Sasuke, who had finally complied and turned around to fix the bushy-eyebrowed man with one of his own piercing stares. Hinata was quietly putting on her tan coat, keeping her head down, every now and then glancing at the still-stoic Uchiha, Sakura, and Naruto, who was pulling on Sakura's neck as he slipped farther toward the floor, leaving marks on it.

"Bye," she replied in the silence as the door swung shut. Sighing, she let Naruto fall off her onto the floor and walked behind the bar; she grabbed a rag and began to wipe down the long counter. As she scrubbed at a particularly stubborn spot, she did not notice Sasuke abandon his seat and help Naruto to his feet. He was almost out the door when–

"Hey!"

Sasuke turned to see the pink-haired woman hop deftly over the counter, apparently too lazy to go around and walk toward her, offence etched on her face.

"I can do that myself," she snapped, trying to take Naruto's weight onto her completely, to no avail. He simply let her struggle and tug, and eventually he fixed her with a dangerous look that clearly told her to back off. She did not comply; she turned off the light switch and they were plunged into darkness, while his onyx eyes glittered with a strong passion of hate toward her. Together, they lifted their teammate through the door and slowly made their way down the street to where they lived, in silence, occasionally letting their fingers brush each others' as they went

* * *

"Omigod!" Ino shrieked, wrapping her fingers around Shikamaru's upper arm, who cried out in pain but did not have the heart to slap her or otherwise release her grip. Her hangover was long gone, and now they sat on the couch watching a movie that apparently was quite good. He found scarier things in battle, in his humble opinion, but if she enjoyed it, it was a price to pay to keep her off his back for not ever taking care of his share of chores. 

A strange scraping sound issued from the television set; shadows were cast all around on the walls and Ino made a face. "Ohh...look what they're _doing _to it. That's _disgusting._"

"And so is your face," Shikamaru muttered quietly, adding 'what a drag' to the end of his sentence inaudibly.

A loud thump caused Ino to point up at the ceiling and shriek loudly once again.

"You're the man of this house; go check the roof!"

"Fucking wuss," he retorted angrily, leaving the confines of the warm blanket and giving her a dirty look as she impatiently waved a hand for him to get a move on. He grumbled and opened the front door, looking left, right, up down and all around and saw nothing; he did not notice the two golden scrolls laying on the 'Welcome' mat.

"There's nothing there," he said, shutting the door and huffing at the blonde he was living with. _God I should've roomed with Hinata...at least she doesn't talk._

**

* * *

**

Tenten grinned and twirled another kunai between her thin fingers, smiling in satisfaction when she saw that her weapon had hit it's target dead center, not that she expected anything less. Hinata watched from a corner near the fireplace, silent as usual, mulling the events of the tavern that night in her ever-thinking mind.

Lee sat on the other end of the couch from Tenten, upsidedown; his feet dangled over the back of the couch while his bowl-shaped haircut hung down off where feet would normally be. Nimbly, Tenten's fingers barely required movement as she shot another kunai dead center, which forced the previous one out of the way. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"I should start practicing with those needles," she said quietly to herself; Hinata turned away and stared into the leaping flames.

Lee let out a yawn and closed his eyes as well. "We both need to practice...we don't have missions for a few days."

"Thank god," Tenten said, curling up against the soft, black leather and sighing in content once again.

"Did you see what happened in the bar, Tenten?" Lee asked, using her name to imply that he was truly affected by the night's events.

Tenten did not look at him or open her eyes. "Yes. Why?"

"I...do you...Why do they do that?"

Tenten frowned. "I don't know, Lee, okay? You ask me this all the time. Don't ask _me_ to delve into their crazy-ass minds and find out what makes them tick. I'm not good at it."

"You were with some," Lee muttered quietly before biting his lip in regret. He didn't need to see; Tenten stiffened considerably and the atmosphere changed considerably; Hinata swallowed nervously.

Some people had liked her cousin more than others.

A strange rustling caught Hinata's attention; a gold flash of ribbon fluttered past the window, and she stood up.

"What is it?" Lee asked her, following the shy girl's gaze.

She shook her head, sitting back down and stuttering, "I...Nothing..."

"Probably just the wind," Lee muttered, looking up at Tenten, who had now turned her entire body into the couch to show that she was done talking that night.

I'm so sorry...for you...Tenten.

* * *

An unearthly hush fell over the Village of Kohona.

Not a leaf stirred, not a light remained on, winds and breezes did not exist at this current point in time, which caused the dust, among other things, to settle abruptly wherever they happened to be. Although many were asleep, and therefore not noticing this sudden ominous silence, those who were awake noticed it immediately, and it was unnerving.

The ninja responsible for guard duty (which had gone into effect ever since the 3rd unsolvable murder of the month) surveyed the unusually still night with narrowed, tired eyes.

A strange rustling–

A fast-moving shadow–

Sentries everywhere leapt to their feet, chakra at disposal, weapons at the ready, but as soon as the noise had passed, time restarted once again.

It spread slowly, moving over neighborhoods at a time: The sudden hush, the fast moving shadows and barely-there rustling, and then nothing. They were searching.

Near the middle of town, Sasuke was perched on the top of his roof, rubbing his shoulder with as much pressure as he could take, which was plenty to say the least; he blinked away tears; he would sooner die than admit that he had just gotten cloudy-eyed over a bit of pain.

But the strange rustling drove pain from his mind as he gently fingered a razor-sharp kunai in his pocket, waiting, his dark profile blending in with the roof most admirably.

He watched the square of light on the ground cast by Sakura's window; she was moving about, back and forth, in a heavy pacing sort of way, every now and then standing in the window and simply not moving. He could hear her talking to herself in a way so reminiscent of him that he flung his kunai toward her stock-still shadow on the ground; the part of the roof he rested on was far above her window, but he still nailed her heart with fairly decent aim. Of course, he could not match Tenten's aim, but hey, no one was perfect, although the Uchiha _so _wanted to be...he wanted many things...that he would never get.

A loud snore jerked him from his thoughts; Naruto was clearly sleeping off another hangover. Cursing him inwardly, he let himself fall roughly onto his back as another wave of stabbing pains, like being struck with thousands of needles, swept through his shoulder and up his neck.

Abruptly he flung a kunai into the darkness; the strange whistling told Sasuke that he had missed, and further implied that he would not get to fight tonight. A flash of gold ribbon caught his attention, but it disappeared as fast as it had come, and as another wave of needles stabbed themselves into his neck, he decided to not worry about it, though his conscious would be berating him all night, as if it didn't already. But that was okay...it had been a warning to stay the fuck away from his house.

"What the _hell_ are you doing, flinging weapons past my window?" Sakura demanded, her face appearing over the seemingly dropped-off edge that was the edge of the roof. She was standing on her windowsill, pulling herself up with her arms to see her teammate on his back, angrily flinging weapons in any direction he pleased without worrying who it hit. "Go to bed," she ordered, giving him a look as though he were crazy sitting up here.

He muttered "Hn". This time, he had pretty much said "Fuck you, speak for yourself."

Without warning he grabbed his shoulder again; these stupid pains were driving him crazy and keeping him up more than usual, and he forgot to be discreet about it as he swore under his breath and Sakura gave him a searching look.

"Pull something?" she suggested, pulling herself up with her arms to kneel on the roof edge. Sasuke watched her muscles flex considerably as she heaved herself over the edge, not to mention she was accidentally (or maybe not) giving him a full view down her camisole. She straightened to an attentive sitting position, shrugged her shoulder to adjust the annoying strap, and peered at him, her green eyes struggling to remain impassive and not as concerned as she felt. This had been happening more often lately...

When he did not answer (he merely looked down at his lap after attempting to look at her and getting a full view down her camisole) she simply sat and stared, a few feet away, tilting her head and surveying him owlishly.

"Well, go to bed soon, okay?" she said in a quieter voice, but no less comforting or soft. She pushed herself backward, letting her weight lower down; she stood on her windowsill and held herself up by her arms and fixed him with a glare that said, "Or else."

She meant it; there had been many a time where she had come up here to forcibly drag him to bed as if she were an overbearing mother...or girlfriend. But it was never the sweet, overly concerned Sakura he used to know; she lost her temper in the same span of seconds, but no matter what he said to her, she took it with a grain of salt and showed him the thick skin of her back as she walked away.

Her head vanished from the edge, and Sasuke sat in silence a full minute before deftly letting himself drop to the ground and walk inside.

Sakura sighed and turned off her light in her bedroom; what she wouldn't give for everything to be normal again between them.

A ribbon of gold caught her eye; it fluttered in and out of her vision so fast she was sure she was hallucinating; she didn't exactly drink a little bit either.

Shrugging it off, she sat in her windowsill and leaned her head against the frame, letting the breeze pick up again and ruffle her pink locks. She felt so old.

* * *


	2. Immediate Repercussions of the Golden Sc

**Disclaimer: Blah blah blah whatever. **

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* * *

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**Chapter 2: Immediate Repercussions of the Golden Scrolls**

**THUMP.**

**THUMP.**

**THUMP.**

"Uchiha, get your ass up or so help me I will **break** down this door and forcibly drag your **sorry ass **out to the curb with no breakfast!"

The stubborn young man crossed his arms as if he were a child and rolled over to turn away from the door. It was bad enough that he had gotten absolutely _no_ sleep the previous night due to pain and his overbearing conscious, now he was being awakened from a semi-peaceful sleep by a screaming ninja with a dangerously hysterical temper and a strange habit of making sure everybody ate breakfast before leaving the house. And she was loud. At least she wasn't screaming at him about a hangover; the one glass he'd had last night did not suffice.

Eating was overrated, in his opinion. Just because Naruto always inhaled the tabletop like it was the last air he was getting for the rest of his life, didn't mean everybody was hungry. He could have slept just a bit more, or brooded, in the time it took to be forcibly fed like a child with no arms.

"You know, Sasuke, I believe it's time for your annual _physical,_" Sakura said sweetly, and he heard her lean against the door. "Maybe we should get that out of the way tonight before you have a mission where you don't come home for a few days." She waited for the reaction; he hated being treated for _any _little thing, and physicals were a waste of time in his book, in which (usually Sakura) prodded and poked him and made snide comments about his physical features, and then he told her she resembled a stick. This angered her, and she would outright lie about how he resembled nothing but a rock, and the game would go on, and neither ninja would say a true word.

_Bitch, you play dirty. _

Sakura gave a forced smile to her teammate, who opened the door reluctantly and gave her a look nothing short of pure loathing. She dropped her sweet demeanor immediately, threw a towel in his face, and turned away. Not only was she annoyed that he tended to skip breakfast (which was utter stupidity on his part, for missions did not provide lunch breaks and sometimes they did not come home), but...and this was a bit strange on her part but...his hair _never_ was messed up. Naruto bounded down to eat breakfast before showering with a rat's nest settled on his thick skull, locks hanging in his eyes, and she showered before even coming downstairs. But no, Mister Expressionless could roll out of bed, greet the world with a scornful look as if he'd rather go to hell and back, and _still _look sexy.

Sakura frowned at her last thought, then shrugged it off and hurried downstairs before she let anything burn; Naruto would have a fit.

Sasuke came quietly down the stairs about 20 minutes later (_how long does it take for him to shower...he's like a woman–_thought Sakura) and took his usual place at the head of the table, assuming his brooding pose with his elbows on the table and chin resting on his hands, his eyes closed against Naruto's incessant babbling and the sounds of reality.

"Wow, thanks Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, his fork and knife in his fist like he had not eaten in many days, his eyes surveying the plate with feral desire to quell his hunger. She smiled warmly and ruffled his hair in a mother-like way.

"I want this gone," Sakura snapped, placing a plate in front of Sasuke, who did not move his elbows in compliance, so the plate sat some two feet away in the middle of the table. "I mean it." To further prove her point, she crossed her arms and stood behind him, staring at the back of his head all the while. Sasuke did not like people watching him this way, let alone when eating, but did not show that he was uncomfortable; the only thing out of the ordinary was the fact that the hair on the back of his neck was standing up in anger and annoyance, ruffled like one very pissed-off wild dog.

After several moments of this, in which the only sounds in the kitchen were of Naruto inhaling his breakfast and clanging dishes, he slowly slid his elbows off the table and roughly pulled his plate toward him, unnecessarily clanging silverware against his plate to say 'See, happy, I'm eating.' Very slowly and deliberately, he ate, quiet as a mouse. Sakura walked away, untying her apron (which Naruto insisted she wear) as she went; Sasuke glanced at her backside before returning eyes to his food, which was surprisingly half-gone.

"So, will you two be home tonight, or no?" Sakura asked, walking back and forth around the kitchen, sporadically doing things; she put a few dishes away, she checked her clipboard for her list, signed a few papers, sipped her coffee, and began again. Sasuke glanced at her again, but when Naruto nearly caught his eye, he quickly lowered his eyes to her plate once more.

"Well," Naruto said through a mouthful of food; tiny pieces of vegetable and egg splattered on the table and Sasuke's face; his lip twitched dangerously. "We're supposed to be on another half-day mission...so we might be home for lunch. Or maybe this afternoon, but yeah, tonight we should be home! How 'bout you?" Sasuke did not join in the conversation, but instead stabbed at the last piece of omelette and put the fork in his mouth, slowly dragging the fairly sharp utensil out through his lips, as to savor that last bite; actions were all Sakura needed as she smirked; she knew he liked her cooking.

Sakura gave a heavy sigh and turned away once more, toward the sink, resting her weight on one quite curvaceous hip to do the dishes. Sasuke abruptly choked on his food.

"Well, as long as you all don't get torn up too much from the mission and I'm not up 'til all hours of the night stitching flesh back together and using chakra then yeah, I should be home too." She glanced at Sasuke, who was making a strange noise; a cross between attempting to quietly clear his throat and a hiccup. Either way, he pushed his empty plate away.

"Erm, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, raising a blond eyebrow and giving him a strange look.

Sakura couldn't help smiling as she hurried around the table and stood behind him and looked down at the back of his neck.

"All you have to do is relax," Sakura stated obviously, and abruptly ran her fingers through his ebony locks; he swallowed and shivered under her sudden touch as her warm fingers brushed against his scalp, and she thought with some exasperation, _how the hell does he get his hair to stay up?_

It was a quiet moment; Naruto watched with a strange expression as Sakura pressed her face into Sasuke's spiky hair and closed her eyes, taking in the feel, the scent, everything about this soft material that she would gladly rest her head upon for the rest of her life. After a moment, Sasuke's expression went from slight confusion to one of blank content; he also closed his eyes and felt as the soft tips of her fingers brushed his scalp with a strange warmth that he had not felt for a very long time.

And in one moment, their breathing matched, and a sigh of blissful content issued from both of them as they stood, frozen in a tiny cocoon of time and reality that was only them.

But good things never last long–

"HEY! Did anybody get the mail?"

In unison, the two jerked away from each other, and time went on as if nothing had ever happened; Sakura was suddenly collecting Naruto's dishes, and Sasuke was stacking his in a small pile.

"Hn," Sasuke muttered, which meant that he would get it, and he pushed his chair out and carried his dishes and tipped them into the sink, averting Sakura's eyes. He turned his back to them and walked out, his hair hanging in his face to effectively put up a wall to intruders of emotion. He crossed the sitting room, thinking (which is no surprise) and slowly pushed open the screen door and looked down. There, on the Welcome mat, with a pile of assorted letters, leaflets, and messages, sat 3 shimmering scrolls of gold, tied with gold ribbon. Pure gold.

Intrigued, the nosy Uchiha stepped out onto the patio and looked down a few houses to where Hinata, Lee and Tenten resided; there were none there, but they did get up earlier and might have. He bent down and scooped up the mail, the scrolls on top as he rifled through the letters; some leaflet, a message for Naruto, a message for Sakura, some bill, some mail-order offer (who actually used those?), and a...rock. Sasuke furrowed his brows in confusion as he took the rock and dropped it into the small garden, then walked back into the house, thoroughly interested as to why a few ninja were receiving seemingly important news.

Tossing the other mail onto the table, he resumed his place at the head of the table; Naruto was stuffing food into a bag most likely for the day's mission, and Sakura was at the other end of the table, her form hunched over a fairly large stack of paperwork, her fingers pressed to her temples, biting her bottom lip.

_That woman works too much,_ Sasuke thought to himself as he studied the scrolls. There was one for each of the residents...well...except Kakashi, but he had not been home in days. Vaguely, he wondered where his perverted overseer was, but the lure of curiosity about the news was too strong, and he picked one up. Emboldened on the golden ribbon in black letters was "Naruto Uzumaki". Placing it aside, he read the next one, "Sakura Haruno", and then, predictably, the last one read "Sasuke Uchiha".

The noise that came from him must have been a different "Hn," than usual, for Sakura looked up from her work and her eyes widened as she saw the shimmering scrolls near him. "Wow, what are those, Sasuke?"

He shrugged in reply and tossed Naruto's scroll at him; the blonde was currently on the floor stuffing any food he could into his duffel bag. "What's this?"

He carefully handed Sakura's scroll to her; it was so interesting that she actually pushed her stack of papers away and took it. "You could have thrown it to me too, I'm not fragile," she grumbled, but glanced at him all the same as she read the ribbon for herself. Sure enough, "Sakura Haruno" was printed in blazing black letters.

"Who wants to open it first?" Sakura asked the silent kitchen.

"I will!" Naruto yelled obnoxiously, and ripped off the ribbon and opened it; it was a long scroll. After a few moments he frowned in frustration and slumped. "There's too many words...Sakura?" he pleaded.

She complied and slowly undid the ribbon; Sasuke watched her eyes travel a million miles a minute down the page as she absorbed the information without pausing or blinking an eye. She was one of the smartest people he ever knew...intelligent...but stubborn as hell. After a long minute, she sat back and frowned.

"I think...it's a contest," she said slowly, eyes still darting left to right as she reread the words to herself.

"Details," Sasuke muttered, unraveling his and glancing at it; shit, there were so many words. He didn't blame Naruto for not reading it.

"A total of 8 participants...starts at 9:00 am tomorrow morning-"

"They could've given this to us earlier!" Naruto interjected, and Sasuke silently agreed.

"Blah blah blah...in...Forbidden Area 13."

There was a long silence and Sakura thought aloud in puzzlement. "Area 13...I don't think I've ever heard of it."

Sasuke did not speak, which meant he did not know about it either, which goaded him even more to do this contest.

"If it's number 13, it's probably dangerous!" Naruto said loudly, resuming his seat.

"This is so _weird..."_ Sakura muttered, her eyes still jerking this way and that to take in every detail.

Sasuke's curiosity got the better of him; he put his elbow on it to keep the scroll from rolling up and read:

**Sasuke Uchiha–**

**You have been one of the few selected to participate in this mission. There will be 8 participants. This will be a decision that we do not wish you to take lightly; if you decide to do this, you shall be bound until the end. Read on, please.**

**Begins: Saturday, July 16, 9:00 am. Please report to outskirt post of Area 13 by 8:00 am. **

**Location: Area 13, if that were not obvious from above. **

**The Mission: Simple. Survive. Does that sound easy to you? It is not.**

**Enclosed is a unique item suited to your personality; please follow the instructions carefully for your specific item. **

**Item Received: T-T Book.**

**Specific instructions: None. **

**Other information:**

**Minor injuries should be treated with the help of teammates and your own ingenuity.**

**Tasks will be assigned throughout this mission; you must work together to complete them all unless the rules state otherwise.**

**Should you die, you will escorted from Area 13 in a matter of minutes, or it may be a few hours. We are busy people, and it is against the code of Conduct for us to be seen within the compound while the mission is carried out.**

**This contest is NOT for the weak-minded, nor those who cannot withstand pain and have less than stellar survival skills. **

**What to bring:**

**Whatever you need to survive. No more than two bags, please, and any unneeded luggage can and will be confiscated as found. **

**One member has already been assigned to handle meals, so food of your own is not required.**

**No littering.**

**Once you join, the only way out is death. Simple enough for you? **

**We hope to see you, Sasuke Uchiha–**

**S.T.U.**

Well okay then.

Sasuke looked up at Sakura, who was still in utter bewilderment.

"It doesn't say how long this thing is," Sakura stated flatly, "and I really want to do this."

Her answer surprised both of the boys; she sounded so determined in a way that was rare for her.

"And," she continued. "I don't even understand the mission. Do we really have a chance of dying, or is that just an exaggeration? And we don't even know where this place is." Sasuke could sense the annoyance in her voice; her intelligence and knowledge had never failed her before. "And I'm going to have to carry all the shit to cook with," she added, making a face. "And they sound like they want us all to die...who do you think the other 5 are?"

"Well I'm doing it!" Naruto said, springing to his feet and assuming a hero pose, his eyes closed as he grinned brightly. "Bring it on, believe it, I can do anything!"

Sasuke chuckled. The same hyperactive Naruto, the same worrying Sakura. _Will Sakura really go through with this?_

"Well I'm doing it," Sakura said in a determined voice, a strong voice that made Sasuke stare at her with a mixture of confusion and respect. She sounded like him. "At dinner we'll discuss it further, cause I'm _so_ late," she fretted, grabbing her bag and shoving her paperwork into it, sounding for all the world like a stressed mother trying to get her children to school. Sasuke got up from his chair and rolled up his scroll, stowing it deep in his pocket. Naruto bounded to the door, babbling about how well he was going to do in this contest.

"Bye!" Sakura said loudly, shoving Naruto out the door; Sasuke followed silently, but then–

"Sakura," he began, and she turned to face him. "Are you really going to do this?"

There was a long silence. She narrowed her eyes at his stoic expression. "Of course I am. Just because I'm doing it though, doesn't mean you need to do it too. You have an important job and I'm not worth giving that up."

Sasuke folded his arms and she mimicked him, shooting kunai at each other with narrowed eyes; Jade and onyx. He snorted in laughter.

"This is for me, also," he said quietly.

"I'm stronger than you think," Sakura said fiercely; she knew he didn't and would never think so, but this was a chance to prove it.

"I'm looking forward to the proof," Sasuke said, and as her face grew stonier with every second passing, he resumed a blank expression and tenderly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't overwork yourself," he said monotonously, which the was the closest he would come to a caring word, and he disappeared without a word, leaving Sakura to hold her shoulder and close her eyes, wishing there weren't so much hate, so much doubt, so much unknown in their friendship. She hated him for everything he had done to all the people who wanted to help him, and the fact that she knew he thought she could not handle herself was even worse. But she still wanted him close, she wanted to break through and find out what he was inside, to prove he was not the inhuman statue he vied to be.

"I _hate _you," she whispered, and hurried off down the street, not wanting to be late, or Tsunade would have her head.

* * *

"URGH!" 

Sakura could not help covering her mouth as her startled cry echoed throughout the room; she grimaced as Shikamaru laughed at her and flicked the end of the embedded Shuriken, watching it tear skin along with it.

"Ugh, if only there weren't so much blood...I think I stained your floor," he laughed, looking at the puddles of crimson he had brought into the room with from his wound. She gave him a steady look and wrapped her fingers around the sharp weapon, lifting his arm with it to see how deep it had gone.

"It isn't _my _floor," she replied, and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the sight of congealed blood around the wound. "How long ago did this happen?"

Shikamaru looked away and tried to assume a 'whatever', indifferent sort of look, but she stared at him so fiercely that he looked around and then back at her, lowering his voice an octave. "Well...Ino caught me first."

Sakura let out a laugh and let go of his injured arm, kneeling over her arms, which were wrapped around her stomach. "The old ball and chain, eh? What'd you forget this time?"

"Shut up," he whined, leaning back in his chair with the air of one who was severely bored with life; in his case, he was bored with everything. "I forgot to get the mail. Pht. Big deal. Apparently there was something important in it, unlike usually."

"Mm," Sakuramused, concentrating more on his injuries than what he had just said.

"I have a question," Shikamaru asked quietly, giving her such a rare, serious look that Sakura humored him and kneeled, her face level with his.

"I know," she whispered, her eyes boring into his. "You...are in love...with a banshee."

"You're _hopeless!_" he growled, shoving her backward by the shoulders; she landed on her tush with a 'thump' and laughed at him. "She's not a banshee-"

"Yeah, and I've been sued for malpractice," Sakura replied, holding her stomach as she laughed at Shikmaru's slightly pink face.

"I have to deal with her...I _live_ with her," he reminded the medic, who struggled to keep a straight face. His outright denial was hilarious.

"Which was your decision, if I remember correctly, the excuse being that you didn't want the rest of us to suffer with her."

Now Shikamaru hung his head to hide his embarrassment. "Anyway, I really _do_ have a question...actually...more of a warning."

Sakura's laughs quieted to chuckles as she stared at his serious face once again. They had never been as close as her own teammates, but he was not as bad of a guy as everyone thought him, just lazy and too smart for everything. If he was truly acting so serious, without once saying "Ugh, what a drag," then this must be important.

Sakura gently wrapped her fingers around the embedded shuriken and gave a tug; a fairly deep wound was revealed and tiny drops of blood rained on the floor. Her thin fingers worked through a bandage as she deftly wound it around his arm, which he was trying to not let shake. "Go ahead."

He sighed heavily, the universal action of not-so-good news, and his brows furrowed in deep thought; he was wondering how to start.

"Lee still likes you," he said bluntly, dropping the bomb of obviousness heavily on Sakura's conscious. "More than...I think...he should after so many months."

Sakura was silent, still gently wrapping the bandage around his arm, trying to keep her face impassive; it was difficult to pine for nobody. It was hard to remember someone that showed her what a relationship was as she took that knowledge and applied it to her obsession in front of his crestfallen face. It tore her heart in two to break off that happiness for someone who wouldn't give her love in return.

"And...well...I want you to consider it, okay? I remember how happy you were with him, but as soon as Sasuke came back, well, everything fell apart. And I'm no expert on love but...I'm starting to agree with Lee...you still love Sasuke, don't you?"

Sakura tore the bandage and taped it down tightly, not meeting Shikamaru's eyes.

"After all we've been through...how could I _not_?"

"Tread carefully around him, Sakura," Shikamaru said fiercely, as though he had been waiting for an opportunity to say it."And if you have to...try to let Lee down gently, okay? When you broke up with him, he fell pretty hard, and seeing you with someone he considers a worthless traitor...well...just respect his feelings, okay?"

Sakura swallowed back tears and sobs, while Inner Sakura rocked with overwhelming guilt and rage. This just wasn't fair! Was life supposed to be this stupid, this screwed up...hell, what was love to her now? It had been nearly a year...wasn't that enough time?

_Look at yourself, hypocrite, you've been pining for that stoic Uchiha prodigy since childhood...it's been fucking 6 years. It's six to one, Sakura, there's a big difference. _

Sakura gently pressed her fingers onto Shikamaru's bandaged arm and closed her eyes, letting just a little bit of chakra course within her veins to help speed the healing. "It was pretty deep. Keep that bandage on for a few days, alright?"

"Right," he replied, flexing his arm with a faint wince. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around Sakura and put his head on her shoulder. "You know you can always tell me, right? Or Ino...despite her actions...she would do anything to help you."

All Sakura could utter out of pure gratitude was a quiet whimper. She gave him a faint smile. "Yeah."

"Good," he replied, and pointed to the Shuriken before he walked out the door. "Tell your boyfriend to keep his temper...he's oddly possessive about you."

He gave Sakura a good-natured smile and walked out, leaving her to stare open-mouthed after him, horrified as his comment registered within her numb mind.

"Ugh!" she groaned, slamming her head down on her nearby desk; luckily there was paperwork stacked on it. "I'll _kill_ him."

* * *

Her pointed heels clicked against the asphalt street in an oddly rhythmic fashion as she hurried past houses with lights on and children squealing, past light posts and winding alleys that led to nowhere but darkness, past the forest that surrounded their growing town of Kohona. Darkness had fallen not too long ago, but after having a confidence conversation with Tsunade about the recent murders (and rather gruesome they were, too), she would give any excuse to make it home before nightfall. But her job did not necessarily have hours, and paperwork was always a tedious chore; at least she could take that sort of work home with her. 

The medic rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand and sighed, watching swirling colors dance beneath her tired eyelids. She was hurrying to the bar to see Ino to discuss the news, gossip, and those intriguing golden scrolls; from what she had found out on her lunch break (in between attempting to sign papers), Ino and Shikamaru had both received one...if the scroll was true, that meant only two people were left, counting herself, Sasuke and Naruto. That was five; vaguely, she wondered if Lee would receive one; he didn't train until he dropped and receive high marks during all those missions for nothing.

And Neji would have definitely been given the opportunity.

Speaking of training–

Now Sakura knew Kohona like the back of her hand, but her imagination easily got the better of her as rustling from the nearby forest outskirts caught her attention. In the darkness she could make out–if just barely–three figures moving slowly along from among the ominous trees; she squinted and tried to let her eyes continue to adjust.

"Izzat you, Sakura?" Naruto's feeble voice asked in the silence.

"Yeah..." she began slowly, for his voice sounded so strained and overused, and it was unlike Naruto to use his throat enough to actually suffer. She backed up a bit, and, bathed in the luminous glow of a nearby streetlight, she put out her hands and said, "Come into the light, Naruto...who's with you?"

"Hn," grunted Sasuke in reply, and now Sakura could see the outline of Lee's profile next to him. They were moving very slowly along, barely a couple feet away; it was troubling.

"I thought the mission was supposed to end in the afternoon," Sakura said, taking a step forward, those lines of worry and stress appearing in her forehead. _Why are they walking so slowly?_

"Well ya see, when we found out that all of us had gotten a golden scroll, we decided to do some training, and we just couldn't stop. Plus Sasuke and Lee were totally going at it-"

"Shut _up_, dobe," Sasuke said, clearing his throat; his voice sounded hoarse and his harsh accent sprinkling his words; that tended to happen when he was angry or tired or beyond his wits.

"Come into the light," Sakura repeated, seeing them near the circle of light that she was bathed in. And when she saw the state they were in a second later, she must have looked like an angel descending from heaven to them, for Sakura gasped loudly and could do nothing but stare at the young men before her with a strange, appalled expression of pity and boiling anger.

Naruto stepped within her sight first, rubbing the back of his blood-matted hair in a sheepish, embarrassed way as he attempted a grin to quell her less-than-amused expression that she fixed him with. His orange jacket was slung over his shoulder to show his black tank top underneath; his arms were gouged with wounds here and there, some congealed with crimson obviously due to the fact that he did not bother treating them. His usual towering stance (for he was nearly Sasuke's height now) was somewhat diminished for the fact that he hunched slightly, his arm held in front of his lower stomach in a suspicious way.

Her attention focused on Lee; he too wore a tank-top, for he always had some confidence in his arm muscles, but the color was impossible to tell due to the fact that it was blackened as if burnt and blood covered the rest. From a quick glance, it was obvious one of his shoulders was not sitting right in the socket, and burn marks scorched his face in a painful way that caused Sakura to wonder what had done such pain.

And carefully Sasuke stepped in between his companions, wearing an indifferent expression that made Sakura burn with annoyance at his coolness toward the situation. His shadowed, onyx eyes glittered with malice in the moonlight that had chosen to emerge from the clouds at that exact moment, superiority and blood etched amid his harsh features. Jade and onyx locked on each other and shot the sharpest daggers; _what an idiot,_ Sakura thought to herself, for it struck her that Lee's burns were caused by Sasuke. He too was a bit hunched in posture, and he seemed to be favoring his less-dominant left side for weight; Sakura could tell his knee had been wrenched the wrong way a bit one too many times than was normal, and it was most likely broken and the bastard had walked on it as long as he could. Normal color of a healthy face was not present in his, and although he struggled to remain stoic, his eyebrows curled slightly at the top, and a few lines were etched in his forehead as well, giving away that he was in pain.

"Oh...my...god," Sakura whispered, her eyes darting from Naruto, who was blushing, to Lee, who was looking sorrowful and abashed (occasionally throwing Sasuke dirty looks as though it were completely his fault), to Sasuke, who attempted a shifty grin as she stared at him the longest; her face was growing steadily redder, and even he didn't care to test this fiery Haruno's temper. She took a deep breath; her jade eyes flashed with white-hot intensity as her messenger bag slid off her shoulder and landed with a soft 'thoomp' on the asphalt. Naruto put a hand up as if to shield himself from her wrath, Lee looked down at the lit ground, and Sasuke still struggled to remain unaffected, but he closed his eyes and cringed as Inner Sakura broke through the dams and exploded–

"You are all the most **STUPID** bunch of men I have **EVER** known. I work at a fucking **INFIRMARY **all day long, and I come home exhausted to find **YOU THREE** trying to prove yourselves at a **BALL-BREAKING MALE EGO CONTEST! **So NOW, I have to take you all in because you can't **POSSIBLY** heal those dangerous injuries **YOURSELF**, you should be **ASHAMED**, and **LOOK, NOW I'M YELLING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS AND WAKING UP TIRED, HARD-WORKING VILLAGERS BECAUSE OF YOUR UTTER PIGHEADED STUPIDITY!**"

She paused, breathing heavily and her eyes nearly rolling within their sockets as she took a step forward and was mere inches from their bloody faces; Naruto and Lee simultaneously gulped, while Sasuke bit his lip in embarrassment.

"What the hell were you all **thinking**, beating each other to a bloody pulp out of testosterone-driven **PRIDE!** You weren't thinking, were you? Hell, I don't even want to know the reason for this whole **CLUSTER-FUCK**!"

"You have a job, you have missions, and you spend your time trying to prove who's better than who? You're not going to do this in the contest, are you?"

Naruto was nearly cowering in a couched position, while Lee became steadily redder in the face, his head had been long lowered in shame. Sakura glanced at each other them, then shoved her face up in Sasuke's, her nose touching the tip of his and her narrowed eyes boring into his; she wanted him to lower his head in shame like the rest of them.

"Now I swear if you _ever_ do this again, I will _cut off your balls_ and stuff them down your throats and you will never speak again, and that goes for **all** of you. _Do I make myself clear?_" she finished in a deadly voice; by now, many people were hanging out of their windows in open-mouthed curiosity.

"Yes ma'am," Naruto said, nodding to emphasize his point. Lee touched his knuckle to his bushy brow and said quietly "Yes Sakura."

Sakura fixed her deadly paralyzing gaze on the icicle before her; a tiny perspiration drop traveled down his pale temple as she relentlessly tore him to virtual pieces. Miraculously, he complied, hanging his head and answering with an indistinct "Hn."

She folded her arms and hung her head as well; people were slowly turning off lights and closing windows, some children begging to see more. Sakura put her fingers to her temples and sighed, her body, which had been towering some seconds earlier, now retreated frailly and quaked; a quiet sniffle.

"You're all so _stupid_," she said, her voice shaking, as she picked up her fallen bag and motioned for them to follow her down the street toward the lit tavern where Ino, Tenten, Hinata and Shikamaru were waiting. Shuffling like schoolboys done wrong, they slowly followed her in a straight line, Lee behind her, frowning, then Naruto, who was still hunched and muttering, "She's fucking scary...", and then Sasuke, who continued to painfully limp and glared at the back of Lee's head with fierce hate.

They trumped along in silence, the only sounds the breeze rustling through the now-distant forest trees and faraway sounds of the tavern. Sakura stopped abruptly and turned around to survey the train of broken men following her; they were puppies with wide, sultry emotional eyes that flooded with tears in mere seconds and cried themselves to sleep. They were pitiful, especially Sasuke, who limped along by himself through life as he always had, refusing to accept help that Sakura would throw herself off a cliff to give. But she had to be discreet.

"Sasuke, come here," she said in a soothing voice that made him look up in confusion at her. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, and she set a determined look on her face and continued, "It's not good to put weight on that knee."

"I don't need help," he immediately replied. Sakura sighed and slipped her bag full of paperwork off her arm and handed it out to Naruto, but Lee cut him off.

"I can take that, Sakura," he said in a loving voice, nearly biting his tongue as he caressed her name in a way that he had been given the privilege to do so long ago.

"Fine," she said, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, causing him to grin at Sasuke, who clenched his fist in a way that clearly said, "I'll fucking wring your neck."

Sakura gently slipped her arm under his, her shoulder taking the brunt of the weight of his right side, but he shrugged her away. She poked him roughly in the chest and snapped, "The way you're limping is pitiful."

This only made him angrier, as he hated being pitied more than many things. He pushed her away once again and tried to walk forward, but her shoe connected with the back of his knee tendon and caused it to collapse beneath his weight, and she took the liberty of catching him on the right side. He let out a "Hn", and it sounded like a threatening growl.

_You don't know when you've got it made,_ Lee thought to himself, telling himself to look away as the stubborn Uchiha complied and let his weight fall on her strong shoulders, so that they limped ahead together, Naruto still glancing edgily at the pink-haired medic.

"Omigosh!" Ino gasped, and Tenten immediately pushed her chair away from the table as the bloody crew came limping over the threshold and put an arm under Lee, who gave Sasuke another look of loathing and huffed. Tenten looked from her teammate to Sakura, who was helping Sasuke into a chair at the table where Hinata, Shikamaru and Ino sat, and frowned.

As the four ninja collapsed into seats on one side of the table, Shikamaru offered to get drinks as Ino surveyed them with her bright blue eyes in confusion and surprise; Hinata could only have eyes for Naruto as she stared at him, hunched over the table and wiping a nasty cut above his eye and still giving uneasy looks toward Sasuke and Sakura. Hinata watched Lee and Tenten mutter quietly, casting looks at Sasuke, who was leaning heavily on his left side on the table, every now and then clenching and unclenching his fingers in pain. Sakura watched him with a strange mixture of pity and anger; Shikamaru returned, and in acknowledgment of the discussion earlier that day, she gave him a tired, grateful smile. As everybody finally settled into a seat, Hinata bristled noticeably as she was struck with a sudden thought.

_He could not have been fighting over Sakura...could he have? No...she's like a mother to him. Then again..._

"Hinata?" Sakura inquired, smiling and pressing a drink on Sasuke, who was slumped over the table, "Did you get a scroll too?"

The entire table looked at her, watching her with waiting eyes. She felt herself grow red and could not help her stuttering; Naruto watched her, his eyes hoping for her. With that thought in mind, she squeaked out, "Um...yes, I did."

"So that's the 8 for the contest," Sakura told the table, smiling. "I think this will be fun...like camping."

"Are we allowed to bring liquor?" Ino asked, only hiccuping slightly. Shikamaru hung his head.

"I'm not going to carry you home again...you're a pain."

"Are you saying I'm _fat?_" she demanded, shoving her empty glass out of the way and standing up as if challenging him. Tenten stifled a giggle and Sasuke uttered a quiet snort of amusement.

"This will be awesome, believe it!" Naruto yelled, punching his fist into the air. Hinata giggled.

"I'm not _fat!_" Ino interrupted, oblivious to the fact that they were all ignoring her; Shikamaru grinned and grabbed her hand to pull her back into her seat.

"No, you're not, now drink so you forget I said anything," he said hastily, shoving a random glass toward her. She took it and grinned in a twisted way before downing it and leaning on his shoulder, giggling drunkenly.

"So is everybody clear on the rules? Do you want to meet at someone's house or just meet at Area 13?" Sakura asked the group.

"Let's meet at someone's house so we can all find the way together...I'm not totally sure where to go," Tenten admitted.

"I got a map in mine!" Naruto burst out, raising his hand and waving it around. The entire group uttered exasperated groans.

"You could have told us that sooner," Sakura said, shaking her head, watching Lee out of the corner of her eye; he tenderly poked a long burn that started from underneath his bowl haircut and ran the length of his cheek. Sasuke abruptly jerked and shuddered against her; she leaned back to glance beneath the table and saw his leg shaking.

"Well, I need to take this idiots to the infirmary...they're all in pretty bad shape," Sakura stated, pushing her glass away and casting apologetic looks all around; Tenten opened her mouth, presumably to ask what happened, but Sakura mouthed "I'll call you," and heaved Sasuke to his feet. "Naruto, Lee, let's go," she snapped, sounding impatient and tired. Obediently, the boys stood up; Tenten gave Lee a meaningful, threatening look, while Naruto smiled at Hinata, who blushed in reply.

As the four went along, Sakura still helping Sasuke, Lee still carrying her bag, Ino drunkenly tittered and kissed Shikamaru's neck, much to his embarrassment, fluttering her long lashes at him.

"God, I'm cutting you off," he said, pushing any glasses within reach away and absentmindedly wrapping an arm around her, trying and failing to look utterly disgusted; instead he quelled a laugh and looked at Tenten, who was making sure the rest of the ninja were out the door before turning around.

"Shit," she hissed, a frown on her normally cute features. "I can't believe Lee did that!"

"You know, it's not completely his fault...Sasuke probably could have backed down, but knew he wouldn't."

"It was a sympathy ploy, mark my words," Tenten replied, draining her own glass in a final gulp and rubbing her head. "He didn't expect for Sasuke to be that badly injured to take attention away from him, but anger probably skewed the outcome. And Sasuke still doesn't know all that happened between Lee and Sakura while he was gone."

Shikamaru and Hinata's eyes widened his unison, while Ino continued to plant kisses along Shikamaru's neck.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Shikamaru asked, before slumping, defeated. "What a drag."

There was a long silence, broken by Hinata's quiet voice.

"She loves him."

"Who loves who?" Shikamaru asked, eyebrow raised in puzzlement.

"Sakura loves Sasuke...after all that he has done to her...after all that he has done for her and she for him...they have their own tragic past that only brings people closer. But Lee, well, is going to pose a problem because he still holds a special place in her heart."

Silence followed her cryptic pronouncement; it was rare to hear Hinata speak so much.

"Ugh...I'll talk to Sakura tonight, then talk to Lee. This is bad for both of them," Tenten said, standing up and hitching her back onto her shoulder; she was in dire need of some air. "I need to go...coming Hinata?"

"Well...if you don't mind..." Hinata said quietly, pressing her fingertips together in agitation, "I'd like to take a walk, please?"

Tenten smiled warmly at the shy girl. "You don't need permission, dear...Lee and I will be up late anyway. Go on."

Hinata gave her a tiny bow and left without putting on her coat. Tenten looked after her, smiling. "She's sweet."

"Guess I better take the alcoholic home," Shikamaru drawled, picking the blonde up bridal style once again and letting her head hang nearly to the floor. "Ugh, she's so drunk."

Tenten let out a laugh and hurried out, crossing the street and leaning over the rails that prevented people from falling in the river.

"God, I hate love...what a mess," she whispered, staring at her moonlit reflection far down below, rippling in the water. She closed her eyes and hid a tiny sniffle, for every time she looked at herself, Neji's pupil-less eyes were there inside her.

A single salty tear dropped into the swirling current that was Kohona's famous river, disappearing among it, along with many other shed tears.

Life was the cruelest element of all.

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	3. The Unconscious Tells No Lies

**Thanks to my reviewers from first two chapters who take the time to read the product of no sleep and lotsa coffee: Caiti, Rusti Cherries, sasusaku4evr101, darkbastet596, Sodeno Shiroyuki, and Jennjennr.**

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**Chapter 3: The Unconscious Tells No Lies**

The three young men sat as straight-backed as they could keeping their injuries in mind and did not speak to one another, they did not look left or right, and each was caught up in their own thoughts. Simultaneously, they jerked as they heard a loud slamming noise from the nearby office:

"You go, Tsunade, it's just a few minor injuries...nothing I can't handle, trust me. Go on! I'll lock up," Sakura said loudly; any person who possessed some intelligence (which meant even Naruto could catch it) could tell her words were fake and sprinkled with anger that was just bubbling underneath the surface.

"Promise me you won't hurt them any more, okay?" Tsunade said jokingly, casting a sideways glance at the sorry crew of men as she walked out of the office; they all gulped.

Sakura tittered in such a high-pitched, unusual, fake way that each ninja sitting against the wall reacted: Naruto slumped a bit as though her threatening presence were closing in on him at that very moment; Lee kept his head down obediently, his hands folded in his lap in the way that a little schoolgirl would; Sasuke's movements were slighter and harder to catch, for he shifted his weight and let his head incline just a bit enough to let ebony locks hide his slightly ashamed face.

"I can handle it," Sakura repeated and walked out of her office; step light and face alight with concealed anger, but to someone who did not know her _as _well, she simply looked in a joyous mood. Oh, was that far from the truth. Sakura waved, said "Be careful" to her mentor, and shut the door and locked it with a strangely satisfying 'click'.

She turned to face them; they all raised their heads. As she pointed a long, practiced finger at Naruto, the group jumped and Naruto cowered as though he'd been shot.

"You, first. Exam Room 1, now." Her words were staccato and broken out of anger and disappointment; he scurried like a frightened mouse and obeyed her command.

She turned her deadly finger on Lee, who sat up straighter and faced her as though she were a decorated general. "You, Exam Room 2." Lee touched his knuckle to his brow once again in complying respect. He too, left.

Her finger came down on Sasuke, who glared at her with intensity; she was not going to sit here and order him around like some common ninja. But she expected him not to care, not to comply, not to listen, and she spat an order at him anyway in a dangerously low voice.

"My office. Now." Her eyes were narrowed to the point of being closed, her mouth in a completely flat line, determined not to show emotion; she kept a stony silence as he heaved himself to his feet but did not even glance at her office, but instead limped painfully over to her and stood well within her murderous grasp, which he was clearly underestimating.

"Your wish is my command," he hissed softly, mocking her to the point where it was not meant to be taken lightly or humorously.

A loud cry of pain knifed through the animosity-filled atmosphere and Lee and Naruto both carefully peered around the doorframes, eyes full to the brim with curiosity and cautiousness. They both inwardly winced as Sasuke stumbled back, knee twisting painfully beneath his weight as Sakura lowered her glowing handful of chakra, her expression beyond angry. The normally masterful Uchiha let himself slide silently to the floor and glare up at her as his friend let her bright-blue chakra dissipate and point to the door. Sasuke coughed and Lee and Naruto gave each other a quick, frightened look and retreated within the Exam Rooms. Sasuke still stared up at her, not showing how stunned he was at what she had just done. She had _hit_ him. Hard.

And it had actually _hurt_.

He held his head high as he limped into her office, pride considerably wounded; Sakura turned on her heel and walked into the first Exam Room where her thick-skulled but hopefully truthful friend waited. She shut the door behind her and Naruto met her gaze, ashamed.

"I'm not mad at you, Naruto, don't worry," she said, letting herself smile as she walked over to him and took an arm as if he were a puppet and stretched it this way and that. He still stared at her with bright cerulean eyes that did not dare emerge from underneath his blond locks.

"Can...I say something?"

"Of course," she replied, still smiling at him.

"You were really fucking scary back there."

Sakura frowned. "Oh."

"Not in a bad way," Naruto said, putting his hands out as if shielding himself from her oncoming wrath. "I just-"

"No, I have a temper, I understand. It's a bad thing," Sakura interjected, sighing and closing her eyes. "Now, can you tell me what happened after the mission? Please?" she asked, sighing and closing her eyes again. A single tear escaped from her tired lids and traveled slowly down her flushed cheek. She felt Naruto's fingers wipe it away and she opened her eyes. He stared up at her with serious concern that only time and growth had given him.

"Well," he started, picking at a cut that was already scabbing over; she slapped his hand gently away and he grinned apologetically. "We were eating lunch...well...I was eating lunch, I'm the only one who ever eats during the missions but I get hungry so you know I was eating, and Lee was sitting against one tree and Sasuke was sitting against another and they kept opening one eye and glaring at eachother for some reason so I say 'what's wrong with you guys' and they both sort of grunt. Then I ask if they're hungry and Lee says 'no, thanks Naruto' and Sasuke says 'Hn, dobe'. Lee says to Sasuke that he shouldn't be so rude and Sasuke didn't answer Lee and they got all quiet again."

Sakura put her hands out and shook them maddeningly. "And that's it?"

"No," Naruto said, smirking as he watched Sakura begin to shift her weight impatiently. "Anyway, I finished eating and we sat there for a while and then out of nowhere, Lee asks Sasuke if he still liked you. Sasuke just ignored Lee and didn't answer and that pissed Lee off, so Lee's all 'You think you're so special, deserting people who cared about you and then coming back like you're some sort of god, acting all superior and whatnot, yada yada', you know, goading him, cause you know Sasuke was getting pissed even if he didn't show it. And then Lee said 'I really don't understand you. Sakura cares about you a lot and all you do is shove her away blah blah yada,', Sasuke muttered something pretty rude 'cause Lee got red in the face and stood up and then he rubbed it in Sasuke's face that Lee had dated you-"

"NO!" Sakura burst out, pressing her hands over her nose and cheeks, leaving her wide eyes to stare, shocked, at Naruto. "Lee wouldn't do that...he's not like that."

"Well I know, that's why we were both like 'what?' and had the whole 'what the fuck' face thing going on, 'cause I knew of course but I didn't know _Sasuke_ didn't know! So Sasuke stood up and they yelled some more and blah, blah, yada, stuff, swearing, 'you're a liar', stuff like that. And then I complained I was hungry and they both yelled at me to be quiet but I'm sorry that I get hungry, shit, can you blame me, those missions are hard! So then they were all face-to-face and so they spent the rest of the day trying to kill each other."

There was a very pregnant pause, in which Sakura pulled a nearby chair under her before letting herself collapse heavily into it.

"And at first they weren't really hurting each other, just some hand-to-hand stuff, nothing real serious and I considered letting them just do it because they were lookin' pretty scary but then well, Lee got...pretty angry and started saying things that...well...I didn't expect him to say. It was so strange to hear him act that way."

"Well what did he **say**?" Sakura demanded, leaning forward, still in shock. How could they act so stupid? Were all these personal jabs to emotions really necessary?

"Erm...not necessarily good things, but not necessarily _bad_ things either," Naruto said, his voice getting quieter as he progressed, and Sakura grew pale.

"He didn't mention...the pie?"

"What pie?" Naruto asked curiously, and Sakura bit her bottom lip; immediately she rubbed the back of her head and plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Heh...nevermind..."

"Sakura!" Naruto burst out, shocked. She usually did not keep things like this from him; they were best friends.

"It's too much to explain tonight," she said in one breath, thoroughly embarrassed as she turned her face away and bustled about the office, unnecessarily straightening stacks of paperwork and checking that the curtains were covering the windows completely.

"But-"

"No," Sakura said sharply, indicating that the matter would be dropped.

There was a long silence in which Naruto surveyed his oldest friend, wondering what the 'pie' incident could possibly be; no doubt his mind was working in a twisted, perverted way, courtesy of his former mentors, but after a few moments he shrugged to himself and decided to ask about it another time.

"Anyway, Sasuke was pretty upset," Naruto finished, poking another random scab that seemed fairly close to being completely healed; he had the Nine-Tailed Fox to thank for that perk. He slid down from his seat on the table and continued to watch her with a clouded expression as she stopped using mindless chores to disguise her anger and embarrassment; she abruptly slammed a clenched fist onto her desk, sending paper and pencils and other assorted objects into the air, only to come back down in a matter of a couple seconds. When she turned around, Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of her flushed face.

"Good. Someone needs to knock his superior _ass_ down a few pegs."

Lee's head retreated around the doorframe as Naruto emerged from Exam Room 1 with a blank look on his face; he was thinking. Sakura quietly followed, shutting and locking the door behind her and nodding to the three empty chairs, and Naruto took a seat, still lost within his mind.

Lee touched his knuckle to his brow in respect as Sakura stalked into the room and immediately began to bustle around in drawers for bandages and other things. He did not dare talk.

"Sit," she ordered in a clipped voice, and he obeyed.

A year and a half...that was quite a period of time, and to young teenagers, barely adults themselves, that could mean forever in their still immature minds. 18 months of happiness, 18 months feeling like they meant something to each other and they had something to live for besides the drudgery and stress of jobs and missions. Someone to hold on a bad day and look forward to seeing their face even after the most trying day. But 18 months is nothing compared to years, and forever is so much longer. She had fed him the epitome of cliches; _I still want to be friends._ And they were, but every time he had to set his gaze upon her face it held nothing but memories of the things that he would never enjoy again; now when he looked at her, Uchiha Sasuke stared back at him as well. It was almost as if she _knew_ he was coming...a few weeks before he returned, around the holidays, as the snow fell in torrents outside and the wind howled and he had been debating on the perfect present for her, she broke his heart with kid gloves in a way that hurt him more than anything. She had probably been waiting for the right time to do it for months before, but could not shatter his feelings and what they had in such a final way. Sakura still received a present anyway, but not the honor of his company, and the ending of their relationship had torn apart the group for that holiday season. No one saw anyone, no one called anyone...

And on December 23rd, in the tight-knit village of Kohona that was experiencing the heaviest snowfall in years, eyebrows raised and rumors flew when Sasuke Uchiha stepped within the city walls.

Lee had been so lost in thought he didn't notice the experienced medic carefully healing deep arm wounds with bright green healing chakra; she was gentle in the way of a nurse and a friend...a very close friend. She did not raise her eyes to look at him, but continued to run practiced fingers, tenderly, over the deeper wounds that had been caused by stupidity, hormones, and jealousy.

The vibrant light faded and she raised her dimmed jade eyes to meet his dark ones; the disappointment on her face made him crack.

"Sakura, I'm sorry," he started, sounding quite pathetic; his voice tried to sound as though his actions were his fault, but underneath, apologies were heard.

Not replying, Sakura took his upper arm and held it to her eye-level to inspect; a neglected wound with congealing blood and the looks of a soon-to-be dangerous infection. She glared at no one in particular, perhaps it was only in concentration, as she wrapped her fingers completely around his upper arm and closed her eyes to use her energy to heal him once more. Letting her fingers glide off his skin, she revealed nothing more than a faint scar.

"I shouldn't have done what I did...nor said the things I said," Lee muttered, trying to catch her eye; she continued to keep her head down in a very deliberate way that made Lee quiver inside with guilt; she couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

"No, you should not have," she replied in a voice barely above a hoarse, tired, disappointed whisper. She crossed the room gracefully and silently and produced a tiny black tube; walking slowly up to Lee, she pressed the tube into his hands.

"Those burns are going to need more than my help." _Especially if Sasuke was using full-power fire techniques...again._

"Am...I done?" Lee inquired quietly, his voice low as he looked down on her; she was fairly short, shorter than Ino and Tenten, and even though he was sitting and she was standing, he still looked down on her as he had so very long ago, under that one cherry blossom tree, so many months ago. And this time she raised her face up to his to answer, but couldn't find the courage or need to speak.

That was all the hesitation Lee needed as he wrapped an arm around her small waist and pulled her onto him, attacking her with lustful lips.

At first she hesitated; _I knew this would happen...I told myself this would happen...I can't let this happen..._and it felt so good as memories flooded her mind again. The promise he had made to her when they were mere children, blindly and stupidly following out-of-reach dreams and not treading carefully around the subject of death. But she let herself do it, complied and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with more passion and fighting for the control that he always seemed to give her without a fight.

She never liked that. It was like taking candy from a handicapped baby.

He pulled her closer; she put her knee on the edge of the table and pushed herself up onto it and slammed him back against the wall and tried to keep herself from running her fingers through his hair; already, it was dying. This was a lost cause; by being slammed backward, he had complied, he had given in, and she couldn't stand that more than anything. But his face still fell as she pulled away and slid backward off the table; she blinked away tears of embarrassment. It was like chocolate; so good, so bad, but you wanted it either way.

"I...can't..." she stuttered, lower lip trembling. "I can't do this to you."

"I can't...stop...loving you," he replied, eyes narrowed, his face blazing. "I'm sorry." His face fell and he looked like a pathetic puppy simply wanting attention. " It's just not easy for me. I don't want to give up the happiness...not just yet."

"This can't go on!" Sakura burst out, taking careful steps backward. "I won't hurt you this way, Lee. That wasn't out of love...it was for closure, and what I did was _wrong_. I have to find closure my own way."

There was a long silence as her true words sunk into Lee's mind.

"You're done now," she said harshly, crossing her arms over her chest.

Lee flinched as though he'd been slapped and rejected, and he was right to think so. Getting to his feet, he pocketed the tiny black tube and unconsciously rubbed the upper arm that had been gruesomely injured by his newfound rival. Rejection stung bitterly.

His hand was on the doorknob before Sakura spoke again.

"I ask you just one thing, Lee."

He turned, and she turned to face him, about two feet apart, her strangely reminiscent determined look set on her face; it made him have a strong desire to punch something.

"Stop fighting my battles for me. Sasuke is _my_ problem, his issues are all because of _me._ I don't want you fighting him any more, physically or otherwise, because he'll do whatever it takes and I will not _stand_ to have him hurt you to get me."

Another long silence descended upon the Exam Room.

"I can't do that. I love you-"

"And stop using that word, for it's nothing but a lie."

"I _won't_ do that," Lee said angrily, and Sakura knew that he meant it and would make it so. She sighed.

"Then you will have to go through me to get to Sasuke, if you ever find the need to do so."

Lee nodded. Despite the pain churning within the confines of his barely-there heart, he still respected her; he touched his knuckle to his brow once more before opening the door and walking out, a new unspoken pact in place. She waited until he had probably sat next to Naruto in the main room before walking out herself and shutting and locking the door again. They both watched her as she took a deep breath, walked inside her own office as if it were her tomb to which she was doomed for eternity, and latch the door with a click that seemed to echo all around.

"Good luck," Naruto muttered inaudibly. Sakura was the only one who could get to Sasuke at this point.

Back against the door, she immediately dropped a fierce glare on her patient, who sat as if he were merely bored; his ghost-white face and shaking leg proved otherwise. When she entered he returned her glare with dignity, and she rolled her eyes as she unlocked a cupboard and began to clink around bottles; he eyed her backside with suspicion and apprehension as she poured something thin and red into a small glass, no bigger than a shot glass.

"Take this," she said brusquely, handing him the nearly full glass. He glared down at her.

"What is it?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you, _Uchiha,_" she began, accenting his last name; she was pissed. "I'm the medic, you're the patient, shut up and drink," she finished, crossing her arms and watching him as he sniffed it, glared at her again, then complied and slowly tipped the burning red liquid down his throat with a grimace.

"What hurts the most?" she asked, taking the glass out of his fingers and setting it on her desk.

"Hn," he replied. He surveyed her with intense dislike; he hated being examined, he hated being hurt in any way that he could not fix, and he certainly hated physicals.

"Tell me, or I'm going to give you an entire physical," she hissed, her jade eyes flashing with malice. He did not answer quick enough to her liking, so she pointed a finger at his knee and let it hover a bit, clearly deciding where to poke him as she did a second later. Apparently it told her something, but all it caused Sasuke was pain, obvious when he jerked away from her and gritted his teeth.

"Torn tendons..." she muttered to herself, her eyes staring into nothing as she racked her brain for remedies. She'd _like_ to rip each and every one of his tendons apart into tiny pieces, heal with gentle fingers, then tear them apart all over again. However much hate there was, she was still a medic doing (or attempting to do) her job, so she needed to _think _like that medic and not a girl who couldn't work out her emotions and made out with childhood friends.

She lifted his knee gently and pushed it, indicating that he turn; he complied, swinging his legs up onto the table with a very ugly look on his face, implying that he hated every moment of this, which only made her smirk.

"I can heal this about...erm...60 percent...but the way you insisted _walking_ on it and proving yourself like the pigheaded ninja you are, not to mention falling on it due to your ungrateful mouth, didn't help at all. You'll need to be careful on it, stretch it _every day_, and you'll probably need to come back. Well," Sakura paused, giggling, while Sasuke's face was slowly contorting into an uglier grimace with each passing word. "I can do that for you in the morning. Okay?"

He replied with another "Hn,", which translated to a sarcastic "Oh yay for me." Watching her smile, giggle, and turn red with suppressed laughter at the sight of his angry face was angering him in turn.

"Your face looks awful," she stated obviously, and shook her head. "The things I do."

As she had done with Lee, she turned her head this way and that to inspect the deep scratches a bit more thoroughly, then began to run her fingertips over them as her eyes closed in concentration; the blood was siphoned away, and the skin was healing with a slight hissing sound as the vibrant green healing chakra touched his skin. Perhaps his wounds were deeper, or she was using a bit more power healing his wounds than she had Lee's; either way, he leaned a bruised elbow against the wall as she continued to heal him the best she could.

Heaving a heavy sigh that may have been out of annoyance or exhaustion, she removed her fingers from his skin, leaving tiny scars to hiss, burn and fade.

"Anything else I should look at?" Sakura asked, eyeing him suspiciously; _Why do I even ask, I know he won't tell me. _

Sasuke shrugged the shoulder that was not currently throbbing with pain; he glared at her as though daring to say something else was wrong or required healing, hoping this would distract her from the fact he had shrugged with his less dominant side again; the pains and the curse mark had been on his left. But she didn't miss anything, and he struggled to keep his face impassive as her eyes narrowed, and he knew she knew.

"Don't," he stated harshly, the one-syllable word spoken like a heavy weight falling on another, before she had even thought of reaching for his shoulder. She sighed.

"Fine...as long as there's no more-**What the hell is that**"

Sasuke's eyes widened a bit; what did she see that he had failed to conceal? But when he followed her shocked gaze onto the floor, where a small but bright red pool of blood had formed, he bit his lip. _Oh fuck._ Her eyes–which held threatening tears and pity–traveled up from the floor to his hand, which was clenched around the edge of the table, shaking, to his wrist, which was covered in tiny red rivets of blood, seeping from underneath his dark green sleeve. Incriminating evidence...and where did it lead?

"Take off your shirt."

Sasuke blanched, then coughed, unable to disguise the slightly pink tinge dusting high in his cheeks; he wasn't _completely_ inhuman. "Ah, no."

She clenched her fist. "There's no discussion, Uchiha, I'm in charge and I said _take it off._"

He wasn't embarrassed about taking off his shirt, there was certainly nothing to hide, but once she saw the wound Lee had dealt him he knew there was going to be hell to pay and he would never hear the end of it. Plus...for some reason unbeknownst to himself...he was feeling just a bit self-conscious.

Sakura was not about to take no for an answer by any means, so she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him close to her face, her nose brushing the end of his. "Take it off before I _rip _it off."

The threatening tone in her voice made him comply, but he did not have to like it. Painfully, gingerly, he slowly pulled his shirt off over his head, feeling her burning gaze on him the entire time, and closed his eyes as he felt the air sting the seemingly never-ending deep wound in his back. Hearing a sharp intake of breath, he opened his eyes and turned his head to see Sakura staring at him, her anger gone. Her eyes were wide as saucers, her mouth hanging slightly open.

And then she broke down.

"Oh g-g-god! This is a-all my fault-"

"No, it's not," Sasuke muttered, angry and strangely, feeling sorry for her. She always did this, she _always_ put things on herself and tried to take the world onto her slender shoulders when it was completely unnecessary. One of the things he loved and hated about her.

"Yes it is," she wailed, walking around to stand behind him and placing her hands on his back over the congealing wound; he gave a start and kept his head lowered as he listened to her berate herself for things she couldn't control; all the while that warm, burning green chakra slowly siphoning away liquid stupidity and stitching his mistake back together. Hot blood seeped up between her fingers as she applied pressure to the wound. He felt her fingers shaking; she had been using chakra all day. _Stupid woman,_ he thought savagely.

And even though her sobs were quieting and her muttering low, he whirled his head around so fast he sent another wave of pain in his neck and shoulder; ignoring it, he snapped. "**Shut up!**"

"It's–not–your–fault," he stated slowly as if speaking to an impatient and rowdy two-year old that didn't know the meaning of the word "calm".

She did not reply, but instead said, "You should be okay now."

He reached around to feel his back; there was nothing there, not even the slightly raised skin of a faint scar. That meant she had used a lot of power to heal him, to do this for him. He swung his tender knee and legs over the edge of the table and looked at her as she gripped the edge of the chair, her knuckles white and shaking, her bangs in her face and face flushed, knees turning in slightly, which he knew happened when she was near the end of her tether. Disregarding the fact that weight hurt his knee, he slid down from the table and put an arm around her, but she jerked away and slowly walked to her desk, shoving random papers inside.

"Let's...go home..." she said quietly, in a broken voice. She let him walk in front of her, which he did with hesitation; she now looked pale. She quietly locked the door behind her and hitched her bag a bit higher on her shoulder; the other two looked up at her, and she simply waved a hand, gesturing for them to follow as they left the infirmary.

* * *

Stars dotted the sky as they trudged home in awkward silence, each mind filled with more to think about than the last.

The group reached Lee's doorstep, where Tenten stood anxiously on the doorstep, and brightened when they neared, clearly happy that they were all okay.

"Make sure you use that," Sakura said quietly as she stood face to face with Lee in front of the door; Tenten hovered in the doorway, Hinata was having a quiet (very quiet) conversation with Naruto, and Sasuke stood directly behind her like a hovering shadow; his breathing was nearly matching the pounding of her heart.

"I will," he replied stiffly; his words were reminding her how wounded he was emotionally, and she shook head in an irritable way to attempt to clear the guilt. "Erm...thanks."

"Mm," she replied, jerking strangely under his touch as he hugged her; Tenten eyed the scene out of the corner of her eye, while Sasuke had stopped breathing for a moment; he was so close behind she could almost feel him tense, feel the anger radiating from him. This in mind she pulled away.

"See you bright and early tomorrow," she chirped in a way that an exhausted, overtired young bird did when they were finally out of that never-ending child energy.

The door shut and Naruto broke the silence with, "So how early are we gettin' up tomorrow?"

"Early," Sakura said, rubbing her eyes, with Sasuke trying to glance at her any more than necessary, but he couldn't help it. He was concerned. "So as soon as we get home, I'm making you eat dinner, because I'm sure you won't eat tomorrow morning seeing as we get up so early."

Naruto grinned as his stomach let out a loud rumble. "You read my mind."

Sakura ruffled his hair in a motherly way and laughing quietly. "You're always hungry. But then you're going to sleep."

"You're like my mother, Sakura...who else would make me go to bed early? And feed me constantly? And bandage my wounds, and wash my clothes-"

"Which you need to learn to do sometime," Sakura interrupted, linking her arm through his, the other through Sasuke's; the latter stiffened slightly under her touch.

Together, in silence, they walked home, the most talented young team that the Academy had ever seen, Team 7.

* * *

After a bit of packing and dinner, after carefully avoided arguments and some medical regiments that were needed after that day's training session, silence fell over Team 7's household.

"We can finish packing tomorrow, kay Naruto?" Sakura said tiredly; Naruto had insisted on worming his way out of 'bedtime' by attempting to pack. It was not going anywhere and clothes and Instant ramen packets littered the floor, and Sakura was clearly exhausted. Sasuke had long since trudged up to his room with a full stomach of that chicken he seemed to like so much, with the chunks of spiced tomatoes.

He was far from asleep as he listened to the conversation (well...argument) that Sakura and Naruto were having.

"But it's only-"

"I don't care, you had a mission today and you need some sleep. March."

"I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing you're like a mother," Naruto grumbled, and he reluctantly trudged up the stairs, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Sakura sighed, bade him goodnight, and slowly followed him up the staircase after shutting off all the lights. On the way up the stairs, a picture caught her eye; Naruto and her were yelling at each other, Sasuke was simply standing, brooding, (who'd have thought?), and her Kakashi-Sensei was smiling cheerily into the camera with that stupid book in his hand. She poked Kakashi's face and huffed. _He's been gone for days...I know he's an important ninja and probably has dangerous missions but...I still worry. No word for 4 days. _He wasn't even her Sensei anymore, but it was the pet name his beloved students had reserved for the perverted, father-like mentor.

She walked slowly past Sasuke's room, putting an ear to the door, and inside the young man was careful to keep his breathing even so he would think she was asleep. He must have passed her standards, for she continued on down the hallway.

He rolled over onto his back; the wound was completely healed, but as Sakura had said, his knee was still painfully tender, more than his liking. He was deep in thought, which was common for him, but the subject was a less-visited one. So many emotions that he could normally dismiss without a second thought were stronger than ever, as proved today. Uncontrollable jealousy and pity that he couldn't block and couldn't control; his fists would lash out before his mind had thought of a sarcastic comment to degrade his rival with. The overprotectiveness demonstrated this afternoon was a sign, and he couldn't take it down; that fight had been all for her, to prove she didn't love anyone else.

But no matter what, she did not belong to him, and she had thoroughly expressed this. And who was Lee to say such fucking lies...them dating...the idea was laughable.

So the emotionally retarded young man drifted into an uneasy sleep. The night was young, and horror would commence with the coming of rest.

* * *

"_But Sas-UKE!"_

_That voice made him want to grind his teeth together and bite off his own tongue and choke himself with it. _

"_You can't do this-"_

"_Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Sakura," he snapped, pushing her away as she completely broke down and showered tears on the dusty ground of the outskirts of Kohona. "You have no idea who I am, what I seek, and what you do to me."_

"_Then tell me," she gasped, grabbing my arm and trying to keep her face from crumpling again. How could she be so different, so immature? They were both 13...how did you tell the 13 year old fangirl for life that she was nothing to you and annoying, that she meant nothing to him. How could the 13 year old avenger fixate such a distant dream of murder in his young screwed up mind? _

"_You'll never understand who or what I am. You cannot even fathom the depths of my mind and the thing that I seek. And all you do is prevent my dreams and annoy me to no end. Face it. Stay here, raise a family, give up even thinking of being Tsunade's apprentice, and just enjoy your life and stay out of mine."_

_The little fangirl gasped and let herself slide to the dusty ground. He was_ _really carrying through with that threat he'd said all these years._

"_I've said it once...and I'll say it only once more. This is the path I walk, and not you or anybody else can walk it for me."_

_His words were coming back to haunt her as they always had. _

"_Why are you doing this?" _

"_Because of **you**!" _

_His words were like a stinging slap in the face to the young obsessive girl; she stumbled backward in horror and rejection, her mouth covered with a pale shaking hand and her eyes wide. She put a hand over her eyes to shade them as if it were brightly lit around her and she mouthed "Me" disbelievingly. _

"_You can't come with me, you can't help me. You need to stay out of this for your own good. Go live your life like you were meant to, and don't get in my way like you usually do."_

_She gasped as though the wind had been knocked out of her, and Sasuke turned his impassive gaze on her. He said quietly, "And get yourself off the ground. You look pathetic."_

_He turned his back on her one last time and began to walk away, hoping that this would be the last time she tried, the last time she followed, and hopefully, the last time he'd leave to do what he was meant to do. _

"_No," she whispered harshly; Sasuke turned around to meet a flat hand whistling through the air to connect with his cheek; her slap echoed throughout that small clearing in an ominous way; birds took flight in alarm and time froze as he raised his fingers and felt the blood rush to the impact. The fiery girl stared at him, wild-eyed, her hand raised again, this time with a kunai in a shaking hand._

"_It's **you**. You can't ever let anyone in, nobody can help, and you're just so stubborn and cold that no one else will ever matter to you. Is this senseless dream of revenge worth killing yourself over?" she screamed, gripping the kunai tighter. "And you think you're the strongest out there, but you're not. He'll always beat you if you always shut yourself away."_

"_You don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke replied harshly. "Now put that down before you hurt someone-"_

"_Fuck you!" Sakura shrieked, wildly swinging her kunai about; Sasuke took a small step back to stay out of her grasp. "He handed your **ass** to you the last time you came home beaten to a bloody pulp and I still took pity on you...but now I'm finally realizing...you care. That's why you treat people this way. You're so emotionally retarded you can't even **admit** that you care!"_

"_If you don't stop shrieking like your pig-faced friend I'm going to-"_

"_You can't stop me from reciting the truth to your **ungrateful** face," Sakura interjected, finally letting the kunai fly; reflexes prevented it from gouging his eye; a few strands of ebony were ripped from his scalp and pinned to a nearby tree. Ouch. And that was it._

_Bottled, pent-up anger was overflowing like an erupting volcano; who the hell did she think she was speaking to him like that? Normally she was the annoying big-mouthed over-intelligent stubborn girl that worshipped the ground he walked on and agreed with him no matter what the circumstance. But this change...she was wrong...he had to make her stop._

"_One more word, Sakura, and I'm going to shut you up myself!" he threatened, but no weapon in hand. _

_The little girl he had hated and loved so much let out a strange, unearthly derisive laugh that made his hair stand on end. "You're afraid."_

"_I am **not–**" Sasuke stammered, taking a step toward her, "Afraid–" he took another step, and she continued to glare and laugh, "–to hit you." And with that, he swung, his fist connecting with the side of her pretty head; her laugh was lost in her throat as if he had knocked the wind out of her, her expression fading into one of blankness. Eyes rolled up into her head, she crumpled, her skull hitting the ground with incredible force and her mouth slightly open. Sasuke had power, skill, and unnameable strength under his belt, and with fury driving him, he had clearly knocked her out. _

_He had not hit her; he had struck her. _

"_Oh god," he muttered wildly, backing away from her lifeless body; this would not look good if someone walked in on such a disturbing scene. He cursed inwardly time and time again, kneeling over her, trying to ignore the tiny trickle of blood appearing from underneath that shockingly bright pink hair that he suddenly wished she hadn't cut; he preferred longer hair. His shoulder gave a painful throb and he cried out, holding it. _

_Awkwardly, he pulled her head into his lap and held it, if only for a few seconds; people were coming, he had to leave, it was time to be that avenger and let friends go. _

_When Naruto and Kakashi found Sakura, she was standing, feet apart, staring in the direction he had left, clutching her head with a newfound determined expression gracing her pretty features. She was checked out at the infirmary with a minor concussion, and refused to tell what happened. She did not speak for days. _

_And Sakura never spoke his name the same way again. _

_

* * *

_

A strangled cry awoke Sakura from a light sleep; the recent murders and the gruesome updates from the teachers and Tsunade had been taking a frightening toll on her unconscious. Stumbling in the dark, she grabbed an ever-ready kunai from the nightstand and threw her door open; her determined eyes flashed in the dark like a cat's as she followed the wretched noises down the hallway, past Naruto's room (a second of snoring told her he was fine), past Kakashi's room, which was silent as a tomb, as always, and did not hesitate as she kicked his door open and quickly take in the scene. What she found was pathetic, heart wrenching, and tear jerking in a way that she could not explain.

A small corner had become his emotionally screwed hovel; how he had wedged himself so small in such a way, Sakura did not know, but the moment he saw her startled face he turned his away to hide in the soft folds of his jacket and heave. Rocking...back and forth, his shaking fingers clutched around a custom crimson kunai he had received a few years ago as a gift, his bad knee twisted up to his chest and random objects seemed to be thrown and strewn about the room in a way that told Sakura there was something wrong. He kept everything organized. She turned on the light, causing him to jump and her to gasp as she saw a clearer view of his insanity.

"Sasuke," she muttered, crossing the room in mere steps, dropping her kunai and kneeling to be at his height. "What's wrong with you?"

"I–don't–want–"

"What don't you want?" she asked, struggling to keep her voice low; it threatened to crack at the most inopportune time, and she needed to be the calm one here, because the one who should have been was currently not in reality.

"Look at me–"

"I'm sorry...I can't..."

"Do it!" she yelled, grabbing a handful of his still perfect hair and yanking his head up to see eye-to-eye with her.

And his eyes were brimming with tears.

"Oh...my...god," she muttered wildly, wiping the tears away for both their sakes, "Are you alright? Say something!"

He let out a low, piteous moan like a stranded, wounded animal and grasped the front of her shirt with his hand, curling the material through his fingers. "No...I'm not...I'm ungrateful...is what I am...undeserving..."

"Quiet!" Sakura snapped; her words of anger spoken to him, while true, nevertheless were slapping her in the face ruthlessly as he spoke them, pathetically.

"Make it go away...I'm just sorry...I'm sorry...everybody..."

His other hand mimicked the first; he threw his head into her collarbone, as if trying to beat sense into himself.

"I'm sorry...Mom..."

Sakura unsuccessfully quelled a gasp of surprise; he was dreaming...and from the sound of it...it was about his family. She rubbed his back gently, her quiet voice soothing to the ear.

"It's okay...It'll be okay...I promise."

"It will?" Sasuke asked, sounding a bit more normal; his voice was certainly less frightened and pitiful.

"Yes," Sakura answered, placing her chin on top of his head. "It will."

Moments passed in peaceful silence, and Sakura was nearly crying herself. To watch someone so steadfast and so determined break; to watch those walls come crashing down, shaking the ground all around it. She had always looked up to him, she had always admired him...she could agree with him that sometimes she was overemotional...but to watch him fall apart here pierced her heart like a rusty blunt arrow that had trouble poking through. And if Sasuke had ever seen himself this way, this broken, this scared...he'd probably kill himself out of utter shame.

"Now go to sleep," she said, gently pulling a comforter up to his neck. "Don't ever worry."

Sasuke grunted in reply; he was slowly normal again, and she knew he would either not remember anything, or remember it all and die of shame. Either way, she waited five full minutes before shutting the door behind her, willing herself not to cry. Oh, how that had hurt.

But as she walked down the hallway, quietly, back to her own bedroom, she couldn't help wondering if that had been a way to get something off his chest. Speaking about his mother had calmed him, and maybe it was just...about closure. The same problem she was having at this point in time.

Speaking of closure...

When she realized it was about 6:30 am already, she nearly smashed her clock, angry at the fact that she had to get up so early. So it didn't surprise her when Lee knocked quietly on the door a few moments later; the sun was barely beginning to rise over the horizon.

"Is something wrong?" he asked immediately, the look on her face giving it away. She lied.

"Not at all...the others aren't awake yet. I have to wake up Naruto, though...he asked me to wake him up early."

"I see," Lee replied, taking a seat on the couch. He fixed her with a piercing, searching look. "The girls are coming later."

"Okay," she replied lamely and took a seat about a foot away.

Cue awkward stare.

* * *

"Ugh."

Sasuke pulled the comforter over his head to block out the dazzling light that invaded his dark hovel of solitude. Today was the contest; he needed to shower; his head was killing him.

_Good morning, day. With it you bring loud people and pain. _

Random thoughts of fuzzy early morning to-do's crossed his mind faster than cars on a speedway; he wanted to sleep, but since his head was pounding, he'd rather Sakura didn't come bang on the door again. He stretched, his fingertips brushing the wall above his head, attempted to stand up and simply fell back down as pain shot up his leg. Smirking, he let himself slide off the mattress and onto the floor, wrapped in his comforter and pressing his face into the carpet when something unfamiliar touched his elbow. An unfamiliar weapon that he knew didn't belong to him; Sakura's kunai. How did he know it was hers? He didn't really...but now that the idea was implanted in his mind, his obsessive personality now nagged and tugged to find out the reason, so he gingerly walked out the door, limping only slightly, and made his way down the stairs; Naruto's bedroom was empty, as was Sakura's.

_Looks like I actually slept in._

The kitchen was empty; remnants of breakfast remained in the sink and on the table (courtesy of the messy eater Naruto) and random pots and pans lay scattered across the table. Not wanting to leave them there, he quickly piled them into each other and put them in the canvas bag that Sakura had left out. Operation pack dishes, complete. Operation 2; ask Sakura about the kunai he'd found on his floor when she never trespassed into his room after he had fallen asleep.

But when he stepped into the living room, he was greeted with a disturbing sight; he gripped the doorframe as primal jealous instinct rose within him–

"What the **hell **are **you two doing!**"

* * *


	4. The Hidden Compound

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4: The Hidden Compound **

"GAH!" Naruto turned bright red and hastily shoved something into his back pocket; Sasuke was currently distracted from the couple on the floor and raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

"Nothing..."

"I doubt that, dobe. You're bright red."

Naruto turned still redder and leaned casually (which would have looked more casual had be not been twitching) against a nearby chair, shaking his head back and forth as if humming to the beat of an unheard song. "Don't worry about it."

Sasuke shrugged and was about to inquire further when with a jolt of anger he realized why he had come in here and caused a scene in the first place. Stupid Naruto, distracting him from ripping limbs and tearing people apart and making a scene, and he _so _wanted to as Lee stood up from the floor, struggling not to grin, and put out a hand for Sakura for her to stand as well. They stood straight, facing Sasuke, who seemed to grow taller and swell with indignation and merely spat, "Explain."

"Firstly," Sakura began; who was he to order her around like an overprotective father? "I don't need to 'explain' anything. Second, all I was doing was getting the map back."

There was a silence in which it was mockingly long. Sasuke spoke through clenched teeth. "The map?" There was disbelief etched on his face and in his voice and it was so blatant that it goaded Sakura to anger him even further.

"We studied Naruto's map for a while and then he left to go do something, so I wanted to study it further and compare it to the map of Kohona but Lee said it wouldn't be on there and I said it would, and, honestly, I believe I would know it better." While Sakura said this all with a would-be annoyed look, it sounded as though Lee had simply been teasing her and she him; Sasuke wasn't stupid and he knew this, but he continued to listen as she continued. "So he grabbed the map, and I told him he was wrong, but he grabbed it back and well, he was just being stupid," she said, again, attempting to sound as though she were really annoyed with the boy, but instead smiled in a frightening lopsided way and her nudge to Lee in the ribs didn't go unnoticed.

"Getting the map back," Sasuke started in a slow, dangerous voice; he sounded as though he were letting a death sentence fall, and in Lee's case he just might have. "Hn. That's why you two were rolling around like pigs in fresh shit."

"That's not funny," Sakura interrupted, smiling wider. "It's not my fault I'm ticklish."

Lee and Sakura erupted into laughter and Sasuke surveyed the pair of them with one of the most deadly glares, mostly Lee, who still had not-so-perfect strands of hair out of place and a flushed face. Did they really think he was an idiot? If looks could kill, that dropout ninja would have been eight feet under in the blink of an eye. At least they had only been 'tickling' as Sakura had put it, he called it wrestling with unnecessary touching, not anything worse...he didn't know what he'd let himself do if they kissed.

He stormed out, leaving the couple to continue to laugh, even if Sakura's was faltering; she'd noticed the kunai in his hand, and presumably he didn't remember how he had broken down, which was certainly going to lead to some fun questions. Naruto glanced around shiftily.

Sasuke stormed up the stairs for his delayed morning shower thoroughly pissed; throughout the house, angry bangings and stomping were heard as if he were a young child sent to bed early by that mean babysitter. A few pictures fell from the stairwell wall and hit a few stairs on the way down. _Why the hell do I care so much? What am I to her? _

What was he to her? A roommate, a former teammate, a friend...those all applied to Lee too. So what was the difference? And was this how Lee felt when the shoe was on the other foot and Sakura had been helping him walk to the bar that night? Rules abiding, Lee was _supposed _to like Tenten, considering that their group was now an even eight and had been knocked down a few members in the past few years. Neji was gone, Choji was captured and tortured into insanity, Asuma had been somehow murdered in his house without awakening Ino and Shikamaru and no forced entry, which had raised many raised eyebrows and inducted thorough interrogations for the young teenagers. There was talk and evidence of inter-clan issues, village issues...it was rare for people to travel outside the city anymore, and even down-town was scarce except for the unfortunate souls who had to work at night. Now all that remained was Team 7, Ino and Shikamaru, Lee and Tenten, and Hinata. It was fairly obvious that Naruto and Hinata were well on their way to becoming a couple, and if Ino and Shikamaru _didn't_ hook up eventually on one of those drunk nights then he'd be fairly surprised. But Tenten was still hung up on Neji, and for the way he had (supposedly) gone, it was understandable, but there had always been a slight bond between her and Lee, but it might have been a simple teammate/friend bond. Sasuke didn't know...it was the sort of thing Naruto and Sakura had.

_But why do I care what she does with other people? She's said it before...it's her business._

His obsessive personality dwelled on these unanswerable questions every moment possible; it irked him further to know that these answers could not be found by simply thinking about it. It took time, and he was an impatient man who didn't like time.

It was a few minutes before he found himself standing in front of the shower door, glaring at his own reflection, hand out waiting for the fluffy towel that someone had always handed him. A moment passed before he realized what he was doing, and he let his forehead fall on the cool glass of the sliding shower door. He couldn't even take a shower without help...this thought was not comforting as he dropped gingerly to his knees and ignored another wave of pain as he stuck his head into the cabinet doors under the sink, where of course there were no clean towels. He huffed, wondering vaguely why Naruto felt the need to use three towels every time he showered and made more laundry, when he heard a soft knock on the door; the top of his skull connected with the pipe from the sink and he cursed; _smooth Sasuke._

He unlocked the door and opened it, looking around at eye-level; nothing. But he looked down and saw two neatly folded towels sitting at the door like a package ready to be opened. He forced himself not to smile and bent down to pick them up, looking around shiftily so he was sure no one saw him before burying his face into them, uttering an indistinct sigh of content.

Dryer fresh.

o0oo00oo0o0oo0o0o00oo

"He did _what_?" Tenten repeated, whirling her head around to look at Sakura, who was watching her feet as they walked down the street; they had both taken a walk to discuss the events of the past few days. Tenten's curiosity and surprise was apparent as her chocolate brown eyes widened considerably and her buns bobbed with every little move her head made.

"Yeah," was all Sakura said, still watching her feet. She did not know whether to hate or love the attention. Her friends could not keep hurting each other over this stupid pride, but a tiny, evil part of her secretly loved the attention she was receiving...she had been nothing to look at the academy, and it was probably at least 16 before she'd physically blossomed...that had been a lot later than the rest of her friends, including Hinata. And she almost _wanted_ to make Sasuke angry...he would have to go out of his way to prove that she was his, but she'd never give up so easily.

"What did Sasuke do?" Tenten asked anxiously, expecting a fairly bad answer.

"Actually...he was so angry he just stormed off," Sakura replied, wondering vaguely what he was doing right now. He should have gotten the towels by now, and was probably scrubbing that stupid pretty head of his with his _perfect _hair, along with other pleasing and perfect physical attributes that sent her into a twisted daydream that Tenten snapped her out of about a minute later.

"He'll snap, Sakura," she said seriously. "He's done it before, as proven last night."

"Well on this trip, I'll try to keep them away from each other," Sakura stated with a fake confidence that was only skin-deep.

"Yeah, this is going to be a lot of fun...doesn't it sound like camping?" Tenten asked excitedly.

"It does," Sakura replied, finally raising her head high to greet the day and smiling a warm smile that made the sunlight seem to dim when it neared her face. Today would be fun, and who knows what would happen in a dark campsite around a fire with friends and most likely, Ino's liquor.

"When I called, you weren't home," Sakura said abruptly, a calculating expression gracing her features as the little worry lines (that Sasuke teased her about to no end and Ino said they would never fade). At least that's what Hinata told me...where did you go?"

Tenten did not answer at first. _I told Hinata to lie and say I was asleep. Wait. Lie. Well, there's my mistake. _But then she decided that as long as Sakura had been honest with everything about her and Lee and Sasuke, she sighed and kept her voice quiet as she muttered:

"I was pulled in for questioning again-"

"WHAT?" Sakura yelled, staring at with a disbelieving expression; her outburst caused several people out for market day to look at her, annoyed, and birds from trees to take flight in alarm. "Do these people have any decency? It was late!"

"I know," Tenten said miserably. "Three Black Ops officers, Gai Sensei, Hokage, they all came to my door and Hinata almost collapsed. Lee wanted to go with but...I told him no. He and Hinata waited for when I am came home but I didn't tell them...it was harsh. They don't believe me. They never will."

She lowered her head, closing her eyes against that painful interrogation last night, and gently touched her cheek.

"_Look!" the officer snapped, angling the light directly into Tenten's eyes; she closed them out of distress and pain. "We know he didn't just disappear, alright? We're trained for this shit, and I'm not about to waste time dealing with someone who I know is flat-out lying."_

"_That's not true!" Tenten choked out, her face burning. They suspected. "I hadn't seen him since the afternoon, and the first I heard of him...he was already gone._

"_This is important!" the officer roared, putting his face close to hers so he was screaming in her face; she closed her eyes and took it, fingers twisting around each other as if she were knitting, her body shaking as he rained accusations down on her. "We have reason to believe he's with the Akatsuki...and if not that...he was a high-level ranking officer. He didn't just vanish without a fucking trace into thin air. He was trained for that, he would have known."_

"_You're lying," she muttered, her head still down, body still shaking. "The Akatsuki...bullshit! I knew him...he'd never do something so goddamned low, he had more pride than that!"_

"_Exactly why we know he didn't just vanish all by himself. Someone contributed, someone covered for him, and that was **you**."_

"_I didn't, and even if I did, you have no proof!" Tenten yelled back, standing up and slamming her hands down on the desk, nose to nose with this unknown officer. _

"_I'll crack you yet. I did it to Kabuto and I will do it to you."_

"_Kabuto? Orochimaru's right-hand man? You caught him?" Tenten asked, distracted for the moment; she had never suspected that man for a second until it leaked out that he was in league with the Akatsuki. _

"_Caught him?" the man let out a derisive laugh and Gai shifted uncomfortably; in turn, The Third Hokage lowered his head in either shame or honor; she wasn't sure. "I killed him."_

_Tenten gasped and pushed away from the desk, mouth open in gaping horror. This man was insane, and he knew she was covering up for Neji...but he'd told her to...it was his dying wish, and she cared about him enough to do it for him. Teammates and friends, the unbreakable bond from childhood...she would never betray him, not even while he lay slain by the enemy...for her._

"_You loved him, didn't you?" the officer snickered, his fingers splayed on the desk; Gai made a mumbling sort of noise, but did not speak up. "That's why you're covering up for him, isn't it? Was that his dying wish? You did it out of love, hoping that it would get you somewhere, but it won't. He's not dead, is he? He's hiding, biding his time, ready to help the enemy out, and **you're** the one who's letting it happen!" _

"_Stop!" Tenten shrieked hysterically; he was getting near the truth, and she didn't know how long she'd hold out against this. She struggled to keep her sobs to a minimum and her hysteria under control. _

_The officer raised one hand from the desk and made a few finger signs; Gai coughed, the Third Hokage stirred in the shadows, and suddenly Tenten let out a scream as the officer put out his hand as though waiting for something to be placed in his palm. She hunched over, her body twisting and writhing against itself as though someone were playing puppets with her very body; abruptly, he jerked a finger toward him and her chest was thrust out as though being pulled by it. A chair went skidding out of the way as the jutsu took effect and she was forced to glide across the floor out of her own control and well into his reach as he curled his powerful fingers under her collar._

"_You're going to be responsible for many more deaths...you have heard the news, have you not? We're going to be at war soon enough, and we need to know who we can trust. If we can't trust you, a born and bred member of Kohona, who can we trust?"_

"_I didn't do anything wrong," Tenten whispered, straining at his fingers; the material cut into her neck and was beginning to cut off her airways. _

"_Yes you did. You let love guide you...the heart only leads to pain."_

"_YOU'RE WRONG!" Tenten screamed, and before she knew what she'd done, for she'd reacted instinctively, she pulled the kunai out of his stomach and he finally dropped her. She used the chair to pull herself up as she stumbled dizzily from the rush of oxygen, and saw him laughing at her. Gai was silent for the first time, and the Third Hokage was also. The officer grinned at her and shook his head._

"_It'd take a lot more than that to kill me, dear. There are worse things than death."_

"_That's enough!" the Third Hokage said gruffly, speaking finally from his corner of shadows. "You are all dismissed."_

_The officers trooped through a door in the back of the room, Gai bringing up the rear, while the Third Hokage sat at his own desk and put his face in his hands. _

_The front door was wide open, the crickets chirping and moonlight shining on the dusty ground; Tenten had been long gone._

"Oh my god...how could they treat you that way?" Sakura asked, appalled; he was surprised Gai hadn't said anything.

"Gai couldn't help me," Tenten replied, her voice a whisper. "He had no power over the interrogation officers or the Hokage; if he had opened his mouth he could have gotten in serious trouble."

"And Kabuto...is dead?"

"That's what he said...interrogated, tortured, killed."

There was a pause, and Sakura put her arm around Tenten. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Tenten replied, letting her head fall back on Sakura's arm; she stared into the blinding sunlight that reminded her of nothing but brightly lit lamps in dark rooms. "It was expected."

"I think he really loved you, you know," Sakura stated bluntly. Tenten nodded in agreement.

"I_ hope_ he did."

Another pause.

"You left Lee and Sasuke in the same house."

A third pause commenced, and Sakura slapped her forehead. "Shit."

0o0oo00o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"I knew it was porn," Sasuke said, shrugging. "You didn't need to hide it, Naruto."

"Uh-huh, cause you've _never_ looked at porn. We live with Kakashi, okay?" Naruto said, as if any person his age was crazy if they hadn't.

"Anyway," Naruto continued, finally zipping his duffel bag, "What was your problem this morning?"

"Naruto, don't you get it? He was jealous," Lee said casually, strolling into the living room with his backpack on one shoulder and a smirk on his face.

Now, Sasuke would never admit that to anyone, for he barely could stand it himself, but he pointed a finger at Lee and simply said, "Shut up." The tone in his voice told anyone present that he was ready to have a showdown with the next person that looked at him the wrong way.

"I don't have to. You can't control what I do, nor can you control what Sakura wants to do. You don't own her."

Sasuke's face was twisted, once again, into an expression of pure hatred and rage toward this sarcastic bastard rubbing it in his face that he could not have everything he wanted. It was his fault that Sakura was not obsessing over him anymore.

_I almost miss that. No, I don't. Do I? _

"No, you have a point," Sasuke said with a demonic grin, and in one fluid motion, Lee was yanked up by the collar, off the floor and slammed into the nearest wall, "but I can make sure you don't do it again."

"Sasuke–" Naruto began, but Sasuke glared at him over his shoulder, and he desisted, closing his mouth.

"Sasuke!"

_Oh god damn it. But I want to punch him, _the jealous boy nearly whined to himself. Sasuke stiffened against her voice, cringing as though he were a child caught doing wrong, which, he sort of was. Her eyes were staring at his back, but it was still a full minute before the tension died and he lowered Lee to the carpet and let him go, roughly.

The tension rose again as Lee straightened up, glaring at Sasuke, who glared right back; Sakura was glaring at Sasuke; Naruto was rummaging through his just-packed duffel bag by the front door, and Tenten was giving Lee a maddening look that clearly told him to back down or risk getting his ass kicked twice, once from Sasuke and then her.

Muffled yells came from behind the wooden door, along with some thumping, high-pitched screeching, and the sound of the door nearly coming off it's hinges. Naruto glanced up at the door from his spot behind it, eyebrow raised, and received a face full of wood as the door was kicked open and he was slammed against the wall behind it, pinned, his bag forgotten. Ino and Shikamaru crossed the threshold; Shikamaru was carrying two bags, one black, one...purple. It obviously did not belong to him, and Ino stumbled through carrying two purple bags with her that looked like a luggage set; Shikamaru dropped the purple backpack onto the ground by the rest of the bags Ino had just set down and sat on the pile.

"I can't _believe_ you made _me_ carry your stupid purple bag. And of course it's the heaviest one," Shikamaru snapped, looking up at Ino, who flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled.

"Oh, but Shik–_kah–_ma," she cooed, hugging him around the neck and accenting his pet name in a sickeningly sweet way. "You're _so_ much stronger than _me._"

"What'd he do, spike her coffee?" Sakura said in an undertone, while Tenten twisted her lips to keep herself from saying anything and stifled a giggle; Lee simply stared, and Sasuke felt truly embarrassed for Shikamaru, who jerked his shoulder in a strange way and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You just wanted me to carry all the liquor," he said, scowling darkly and patting her head away. She laughed and ran up to Sakura, immediately beginning to talk her ear off with all the things she'd brought.

"Do you people ever _knock_?" Naruto yelled, pushing the door away so he could unpin himself from the corner; the door didn't completely close, for Hinata edged in through the small crack, not touching the door or doorframe; she poked her head around the door and smiled shyly down at Naruto, who grinned up at her. Unusually, she spoke first; "Good m-m-morning, Naruto."

"'Mornin', Hinata," he greeted in his obnoxious, cheerful way, and she put out a hand to help him up, only a tiny dusting of pink high in her cheeks. Physical contact was getting better.

"Are we all ready to leave?" Sakura asked loudly, cutting across Ino's rambling and Tenten pointing fingers and arguing with Lee; it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what she was angry about, and Sasuke watched them with narrowed eyes. A chorus of "Yeah's" sounded throughout the living room.

"Okay, well, I've got the map, everyone's got their things? I'm the last one out so I can lock up the house, get outside," she rambled, talking to herself slightly as she mentally ran through the list of things she needed to do. Naruto and Hinata walked out together, talking; Tenten took Lee by the elbow and dragged him out before he could protest; Sasuke watched as Shikamaru carried _all_ the bags this time, and Ino jumped on his back and said, "Carry me!" He groaned, muttered "Troublesome,", but complied as he walked out the door, all hands full, and Tenten held the door for him. Ino leaned forward and pecked his cheek gratefully.

_Is that what people act like when they're in love? Ugh._ Sasuke wondered vaguely how Shikamaru dealt with that girl, but then again, how did he deal with Sakura? _There's a big difference. Shikamaru and Ino are head over heels for each other, even if they won't officially date, but me and Sakura...there's nothing there. _

_What a lie._

Sakura emerged from the kitchen and gave a start, seeing him standing there, waiting for her.

"Hn?" Sasuke grunted. _What are you doing?_

"Leaving a note for Kakashi-Sensei," she said, not missing a beat; she could tell the difference between his 'Hn's and 'Ah's and sighs of content better than he could himself. "I'm sort of worried...he hasn't even called in days."

"Don't...ever worry," Sasuke said in a detached voice, hitching his back a bit higher on his right shoulder.

Sakura grew emotional over those words, the ones she had said just last night to him when he had been breaking down, not knowing where he was...did he remember? She would have to bring it up later, and apparently for the moment he had forgotten about the kunai.

"Let's go," she said quietly, and he let her link her arm through his and pull him along through the living room and out the door; she quietly inhaled his scent of being fresh out a shower. When the gazes of six other ninja fell on their linked arms, she hastily let go; Ino was smiling at her, Tenten was watching Lee, who stiffened a bit, the rest simply knew but did not show it.

And these eight friends walked down the street, ready to begin a unknown journey in an unfamiliar place with only each other to guide them along. Memories of past battles, fights, and everything else they had learned came down to this. Friendships tested, bonds broken and stitched back together, and pride. Pride was the biggest aspect.

And teamwork. A fundamental that had been pounded into their skills since they could comprehend simple words and barely stand. They would need that skill forever; they had to use it, and hopefully they would.

0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

But apparently it would take some time:

90 minutes later, the group was still lost.

"Oh–my–_god_!" Sakura burst out, turning the map sideways, upside down, any possible way she could to try to comprehend it, to no avail. Frustrated, she threw it on the ground and stomped it into the dust, rubbing it into ground fiercely, her face flushed.

"We still need that thing!" Naruto protested, tugging at the map from under her sandaled foot. "We'll get lost-"

"We _are_ lost!" she snapped, letting him take the map from under her sandal but crossing her arms and beginning to pace. Naruto flourished the paper regally as if he were experienced in this sort of thing and his eyes traveled left and right, up and down, all over the paper; Hinata peered over his shoulder anxiously. He punched his fist into the air and Hinata giggled as she yelled.

"I got it!"

Seven pairs of eyes focused on him as he took a deep breath. "It's exactly 1,465 paces that way!" he stated as if he were speaking to the mentally challenged; he pointed a finger toward the way they had come.

"**Naruto!**_" _Sakura screamed, red in the face. "We've been going in circles and _you_ of all people say we have to go back?"

"Yeah! I know I'm right, just trust me on this!"

"I don't think it could hurt," Tenten suggested lightly, trying to keep the tension down; Sakura looked ready to wrap her hands around the blonde's neck and choke him, while Sasuke placed a warning hand on her shoulder; god forbid she fly off the handle and scream or they'd be arrested for disturbing the peace.

Sakura complied angrily, grumbling and cursing under her breath like a hold full of drunken sailors, while Hinata followed behind Naruto anxiously as he carefully counted off 1,465 paces, putting his fingers in his ears to concentrate.

1,465 paces later, they found themselves facing a ramen shop.

"Okay, I take back what I said," Tenten muttered, rolling her eyes, as did Sasuke, who should have stopped this from the start; he poked a gentle finger into Sakura's spine as she opened her mouth to presumably berate the stupid boy.

"Naruto–" Sasuke began, but he'd already dragged Hinata into the shop; the door swung shut behind him.

There was a long pause.

"Well...it couldn't hurt to have lunch," Tenten said, trying to sound optimistic.

The group let out a collective sigh and trooped into the shop.

Naruto was already at the counter eating when the rest of the group took seats, all eight side by side. Ino put out a hand, and someone slid a drink down to her; Sakura stuck a hand in the way and stopped it, pushing it back down the counter top toward the man.

"Don't bother, she's underage," Sakura said, while Ino scowled and Shikamaru let out a strange noise that sounded like an amused cough and an "I told you so". Sasuke was sitting next to Sakura, so when the barman shrugged and sent the drink back down anyway, he grabbed it.

"I'm not," he said, and downed it in one gulp, smirking at Sakura, who lightly punched him in the chest.

"You're still 17 too, liar. You have exactly 1 week," she said in an accusatory tone, putting her hand out for a drink herself, but he took it again and held it out of her reach.

"And you have 3 months," he said, pushing her lightly away as she strained to reach it. I'm closer than _you_ are."

"Give it," she demanded, still reaching for it, but her arms were not as long as his. He smirked and held it above his head, and that angered her, so she threw herself at him unexpectedly; the glass flew from his hand, and as he disappeared from the chair, for he was now on the ground, Sakura followed, rolling on top of him. The glass was now fair game, but Ino claimed it with a "Ha!" and raised her hands above her head.

"Yes!" she cheered, and enjoyed her prize with a smile on her face.

On the ground, Sakura pinned Sasuke to the ground with a twisted smile on her face. "If she sets fire to her tent, I'm blaming it all on you."

Sasuke chuckled in amusement and watched Naruto and Hinata lean curiously back on their seats to observe them on the ground. He scowled darkly; Hinata blushed and let out a quiet 'Eep!' while Naruto turned his head away, and they both returned their attention to the plate of food that Naruto was currently inhaling.

A few moments later Sasuke and Sakura returned to their seats and were greeted with too-understanding smiles and a few glares.

0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The sun was bright as ever and hanging high in the sky as the group trooped out, now focused on the issue at hand.

"Honestly, I don't know _what_ to do," Sakura said, rubbing her forehead and pursing her lips in thought.

"Hey, look at this!" Naruto pointed to the Leaf Village symbol stamped on the front wall of the Ramen Shop.

"I didn't notice that when we came in," said Sakura quietly, slightly hurt that she hadn't noticed it.

"Hm, that's strange," Ino said, reaching out immediately to poke it; she pulled her finger back in half a second and held it, making a face. "It's hot."

So of course, Naruto, being the curious boy he is, reached out and pressed his palm against it; he howled in pain and brought his hand back.

"Idiot," Shikamaru muttered, shaking his head.

"Look," Naruto said again; the symbol was gone, now replaced by an arrow pointing to the right, toward the corner of the building. "You think there's more?"

"I don't know...follow the arrow and find the next one," Tenten ordered, running her finger in a straight line from the tiny arrow to the right; a gasp told her she'd found another symbol, the arrow pointing diagonally up and to the left.

For a few minutes, everyone took turns finding the hidden arrows; some were obviously meant to confuse and trick, so it took a while finding which ones to follow, eventually they led them to the alley between the shops, and a larger symbol than normal glittered ominously on the wall in the dimness of the alley.

"This one is bigger," Naruto stated obviously, reaching out to touch it. Sakura listened to him cry out as he touched the larger and probably hotter symbol on the wall...her eyes fell on the ground beneath them and she froze.

It happened in an infinitesimal second in time; the ground began to sink as his flesh touched the round symbol; she leapt forward and made a grab for her friend, but the ground fell through and he plunged into absolute darkness, along with Hinata, who had been ever-faithfully peering over his shoulder; although she had decent reaction time, the most she got of Naruto was the sleeve of his jacket. Now she was on her stomach, straining to support their weight, but it wasn't meant to be.

Hinata let out a frightened cry and Naruto yelled up, "It's reeeeally dark down here," as Sakura held them, suspended over the black abyss. Sasuke shoved himself between Ino and Tenten and dived toward the ground for Sakura, but the weight pulled her body over the edge and all he caught was her foot.

He continued to hold on; he twisted his neck as he heard a strangled cry as Ino and Tenten were swallowed through the ground too; Lee made a grab for Tenten and Shikamaru for Ino, but both missed and all four disappeared from sight.

"Fuck!" he yelled out loud, still looking over his shoulder for help; why did everyone seem to be walking by in a state of obliviousness, as if this wasn't happening? As his mind raced, _what the hell do I do..._a jerk ran through the line of people as he was holding onto them; Naruto screamed Hinata's name as her quiet squeak was swallowed into a distant echo, and Sakura yelled "Naruto" as he let go to go follow her. Sasuke was now kneeling over the edge, staring into the blankness for a sight of Naruto or Hinata, but they were gone, and now the only one left was Sakura.

"I knew we shouldn't have gone in there," he muttered, and he stared down at Sakura's wide, jade eyes that stared up at him.

"Pull me up," she ordered, "we have to get help!"

Sasuke made a noise of dissent. "No, I'm going to just hang around here all day-"

"Damn it Sasuke-"

Her warning wasn't fast enough, and someone jammed a heel painfully into his back, causing him to lose balance; he was suspended for only seconds, and he had no time to turn around to unleash his spleen on the person that had kicked him before his upper body weight betrayed him and pushed him over the edge; his face shoved into something very round and...soft...for a few seconds he let his imagination run around in forbidden thoughts, but after that, he tried to let his eyes adjust to the light as they continued to fall. It wasn't working, and he could hear the others screaming and yelling as they tumbled through nothing.

"Sakura!" he yelled in a wretched voice; he couldn't feel her anymore, he couldn't hear her anymore.

"Sa-AUGH!" His call for her was interrupted with a cry of pain as his head caught something on the long way down; he could feel the sides of whatever they were in closing in as he struggled to remain conscious; his head had slammed on a brick that had been jutting out of the wall and the taste of coppery blood flooded his mouth and made his insides churn.

As he opened his mouth once more, his head caught on another jutting brick; he yelled in pain again, the wound in the back of his head stinging painfully on air contact as he let his eyes roll up into his head. Screams were becoming distant...fuzzy...swirling colors danced beneath his eyelids–

Unconscious, he continued to plummet down into nothing.

* * *


	5. And Then There Were Seven

**Thanks to reviewers, and don't die on the way down. **

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**Chapter 5: And Then There Were Seven**

_...And I thought I was dead..._

_I could hear, but not see the presences around me; I could feel them but I couldn't differentiate one from the next; I heard quick breathing and slow, pacing and walking, and I tried to catch snippets of conversations to no avail. My hearing was increased tenfold, as my eyelids felt like lead and I didn't dare attempt to open them for utter fear of what sight might bring. Fear held me fast and since I was a bit sore, I breathed deeply and let other senses guide me._

_As my brain swam to the surface of consciousness, nerves tingled and activated as the slightly damp floor beneath me was a shock to my sweaty skin; footsteps shook the ground beneath me, and even this little action caused my organs to writhe and my head to pound_.

_Someone could sense the change in my breathing pattern and kneeled beside me; their gaze was focused on my face and I could tell it was frighteningly intense; who else would cause my hair to stand on end in fear? _

_Like a wild animal observing it's prey, as if I were playing dead and he could tell; his presence hovered anxiously over me_ _in a way that made me feel ecstatic and warm inside...yet his worried gaze was tearing _him_ up inside, but of course, he wouldn't let anyone else know that._

"_Hey, here's an idea Sasuke, stop staring at her and maybe she'll-"_

"_Who fucking asked you?" the angry man interrupted; he had most likely risen to his feet from what I could hear. But just as sudden, his knees dropped to the moist ground beside me._

_A hasty cough. "This is so troublesome..."_

"Who's_ troublesome?" A high-pitched voice retorted, angry and strained. _

_I let out a loud groan that echoed in the high-ceilinged cavern and presumably caught the attention of everybody; shuffling feet, murmurs and...such a gentle touch that I did not get the liberty of feeling very often. At least, not from the stoic, introverted man that was letting me enjoy it now. Goosebumps rose on the surface of my warm neck as his fingers left invisible marks of ecstasy, and I didn't dare open my eyes to lose this tiny time of comfort that he was gracing my body with...goodness knows he didn't give this out like a parade car throwing candy. The groan had been simply to voice my exasperation at the arguing, but he thought it was out of pain_, _I assume. His magic fingers caused me to relax and forget the throbbing of my head as he ran them down my jawline and to my pulse; he paused. _

"_Hn," he breathed, which to the group said, "She's fine."_

_Sadly, I slowly opened my eyes and let them adjust, letting reality leak into my mind through sight and ending that happiness. If only I could wake up to that touch every morning...I would be one lucky woman._

Sakura grimaced in pain and her jade eyes fluttered open, suddenly widening in surprise as she found so many people staring down at her in concern; Sasuke eyed her with that fearful gaze of intensity, looking her quite thoroughly up and down, head to toe, before sitting back on his heels and grunting.

"You're alright!" Lee said, sounding relieved, kneeling next to Sakura and putting a hand behind her back to guide her to a sitting position; Sasuke reluctantly let him do this, and attempted to disguise his jealousy by getting up and abruptly walking away. Ino ran past them all and threw her arms around her friend.

"You scared the hell out of me!" she accused ruefully, pulling away and glaring. "God, don't _do_ that!"

Sakura stared back at her with a mixture of confusion and amusement; as if she _meant _to knock herself unconscious. "So...what exactly happened?"

"We all fell throughthe ground...most of us were knocked out from the impact of hitting the ground, and the sides began to close in so we hit our heads. Either way, we were all hit pretty hard," Ino supplied, sitting next to Sakura on the ground and leaning back on her arms. Sakura smiled at her and then quickly glanced in the opposite direction; Lee still had his arm behind her to steady her, and Sasuke was eyeing him from a small corner as Naruto was talking to him, hands flying and seeming fairly annoyed.

"I got it," Sakura said quietly, giving Lee an apologetic smile and slowly getting to her feet; she swayed slightly, dizzy, then straightened herself regally and began to walk toward her teammates in the corner. Ino smiled after Sakura, but then seemed to sadden as she glanced at Lee, who watched her walk away with a clouded expression gracing his features.

"Hey," Naruto greeted his pink-haired friend with a smile, abandoning his hand-waving and suddenly eyeing her in a strange way as she stared at Sasuke, who kept his head down and away, ebony locks hanging in his face. He grinned stupidly and bounded away, still the same hyperactive but a bit smarter boy; he walked toward the rest of the group, including Tenten and Hinata, and they all raised their heads to greet him. Sakura pursed her lips in annoyance. _God, it's like being in school. They have nothing better to do than talk about us?_

"You okay?" Sakura asked soothingly, peering at him through his curtain of perfect locks. He did not acknowledge her, his head still down...why did he seem ashamed?

"Answer me," she snapped, facing him square-on and tugging on the front of his dark green shirt and peering up at him; _wow...he is extremely tall. _"Stop being-"

"I'm fine. Why should you worry about me? I'm not the one who was knocked out."

"Yes, you were," Sakura retorted. "Ino told me everyone was."

"Well...not as long," he replied, finally raising his face to hers. "I'm fine."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously, and he stiffened, angry as her eyes pierced his body like tiny needles; lately, it seemed, his lies were to no avail; they were uncovered by her all-seeing gaze. Onyx orbs glistened with hate toward her.

"Okay," Sakura said in a resigned voice, lowering her gaze in the way a child would that had called an adult on something. She rubbed her upper arm with her opposite hand and gave him a pathetic look, which made his ego swell; it's about time she realized she would not get anywhere with him. He had to stay away from her...physically and emotionally.

Her shoulders were slumped over as she sniffled and began to walk away, slowly brushing his fingers, which were down at his sides, against her curvy hip. Predictably, he jerked and gave a quiet, shuddering breath and fixed her with a dangerous glare as he watched her out of his peripheral vision. She shuffled away, her head down, out of his sight. He relaxed..._she's gone._

A sudden cry pierced the small, enclosed tomb that moments before had been nearly silent aside from the quiet mutterings of the otherninja present; 6 heads ceased speaking and whirled around like the heads of owls as they fixed their gazes upon Sasuke, who was gritting his teeth against the pain that the medic was dealing him. Eyes blazing, she had dug her nails into his soft scalp in the back of his head (which had already been bleeding due to falling) and squeezed. Already sensitive, but he would not tell her a thing and she knew it; she nearly retched at the feel and sight of the warm, flowing liquid that was now staining her fingers as she wrapped long nails through his locks and yanked...Sasuke struggled to keep his legs from collapsing as she now tugged a considerable amount of his weight higher off the ground and swallowed.

"Let–go!" he snapped, letting his eyes squeeze shut. A single crimson drop stained the ground.

"I told you to tell me if you were hurt," she hissed, her arm shaking as she held him fast. "What the hell were you going to do, wait until I saw it myself? What if you had suffered a concussion or something seriously wrong? Maybe you already have...or maybe it wouldn't matter, considering you're still pigheaded and stupid as ever," she said, lower lip trembling. She wanted to take him in her arms and hold him...so badly...but she had vowed not to throw herself on him anymore. Little needy, 12-year old Sakura would not pester her anymore.

"But," Sasuke choked out, slamming an elbow into her breast; she winced and gripped tighter and he reacted by pulling, which was a mistake. Two drops...four drops...

"Now say you hurt," she hissed, no sympathy in her voice, but it wasn't needed; it was creeping onto her face.

"Sakura, stop," Ino yelled, hurrying up behind her, eyes wide. Sakura took no notice. The rest of them were irresolutely frozen at the sight, and it was nothing but strange. Sakura's eyes held unimaginable sympathy for the man she held at her mercy; she barely concealed sniffles, and her expression seemed to flicker constantly from sympathy to barely-there determination that she could have for anything but this. He, in turn, was not daring to hurt her back, not struggling, just letting himself take it...what exactly was he trying to prove if he was not going to escape her grip?

More drops. More time. Still the same frozen faces. Ino dared to put a hand on her best friends shoulder and attempt to gently tug her back to reality, but Sakura's eyes were wide, jade, flashing and hollowed in a way that did not sit well with her.

"Say it...please?"

"Now, now, Sakura," Sasuke said in a low voice, smirking, one eye closed against the pain. "That doesn't sound like the strong Sakura you're trying to be, now does it? Oh no...ah, memories, of little needy Sakura swim to the forefront of my–"

"Shut up," she hissed; tiny rivets of her perfectly developed chakra coursing through her arms; _the hell? He's mocking me? _"I wouldn't be talking," she continued, letting the chakra travel through her delicate fingers and begin to eat away at the flesh that her hand was still grasping. He uttered a noise somewhere between a groan and a chuckle. A puddle.

"Stop trying to be–something you're not," he accused. How he loved when she was beside herself with anger...it was hilarious in a morbid way that he could not even explain to himself.

"**Ugh!**" Her noise of disgust echoed in the tomb and she relented her grip and let him go, and he stumbled away, holding the back of his head, swallowing and kneeling. She had given up.

Sasuke chuckled quietly, uttered an amused "Hn," and put a hand out to the nearby wall to keep himself upright. "Well?"

"Well what?" Sakura snapped; Ino grabbed the back of her shirt, for she had nearly lunged forward, hands outstretched to put around his neck.

"You're just going to let me sit here in my own blood?" he asked fairly innocently. "You're the medic in this group, and you can't let petty differences stop you from doing your job, can you? That is the way," he finished, knowing he had her

The medic's face was contorted with a frightening mixture of fury and hurt; he had gotten the one-up on her _again_, and he was right...she had no choice. Sasuke smirked at her as her lips twitched, ready to let out a string of choice curses that would surely make a drunken sailor proud.

"I hate you," she muttered, dropping to her knees beside him; he continued to smirk.

"Ah," he whispered. _No you don't..._

Angry murmurs accompanied his session as she carefully parted his ebony mane in the back to inspect the damage done by her anger and the impact he had received from falling. As she gently ran her fingers over his scalp, he relaxed, letting his weight fall back on her; luckily, her back was against the wall. And it _had_ been difficult to keep up such a stoic facade as she tore the back of his skull open.

"So, anyway," Tenten began, clearing her throat and attempting to deter attention away from the scene unfolding that had been occupying their attention for the past few minutes. "What do you all propose we do about this? As we can see," she stated, gesturing to the perfectly square room they now resided in, "there are no doors or windows-"

"No doors or windows that we can _see_," Shikamaru corrected. "There could be some switch that we have to trip, or something concealed."

"Those markings!" Naruto burst out excitedly, looking around, as if they would appear before his blue eyes.

"Let's look," Tenten replied, and the group (excluding Sasuke and Sakura) dropped to knees, peered into corners, and felt around for the sign.

"EW!"

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, looking at Ino over his shoulder to see her staring at the ground mortified.

"It's wet."

There was a very awkward and stony silence, in which everybody stared at Shikamaru, clearly bombarding him with looks that stated, "She's _your_ friend."

"Done. Now get off, you're squishing me," Sakura snapped impatiently, shifting underneath Sasuke's weight; he was being purely obnoxious as he let all his weight fall back onto her and she was careful to not let her head hit the wall behind her. He smirked up at her through his curtain of ebony locks and surveyed her face: Mouth set in an emotionless flat line, eyes narrowed at his behavior and the way she had just embarrassed herself in such a thorough way as his head rested lightly on her collarbone.

In response to her order, he halfheartedly shrugged and shifted into a more comfortable position, blatantly defying her words and succeeding in angering her further.She shifted in turn, worming her folded legs out from underneath his body that he now chose to let fall limp as if had no muscle control; after a few moments of struggling, Sasuke glanced at each elbow to find a well-defined, shapely leg on each side of him. _Nice._

"That's actually comfortable," Sakura mused, sighing. "How's your head now?" There was a slightly threatening tone in her voice that dared him to contradict. With a strange feeling that if he did not comply he would not find this comfort, he barely nodded his head; in the dim light, Sakura could still see it and grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Which means that it _was_ bothering you before, which means you lied before," she accused, placing her chin on top of his head.

Sasuke stiffened. _Oh, you sneaky bitch._

Sakura chuckled quietly in a superior way and toyed with random locks of his hair, which for some reason bothered him greatly; she thought she was on top again? _Please. _He began to press himself into her.

"You ba–"

"Now now," Sasuke interrupted as he dug his heels into the ground and slowly pressed her against the wall, his back still to her. "Language isn't necessary."

"Stop it," she whined, attempting to kick him with the feet that were near his shins, since she was shorter; he pinned her legs to the ground with his and leaned back to see her angry face staring down at him.

"Stop!" she yelled, freeing her legs and bringing her heel down on his shin.

"**The hell?**" he yelled, getting off her lap and holding his shin. "That hurt!"

"Yeah, well, so did trapping me between the wall and your...erm...you!"

"Smooth cover," he muttered, rolling his eyes and resuming his sitting position, this time facing her straight on. "You liked it."

"Please," she retorted in an offhand way, leaning back against the wall, a mirror image of his oh-so-familiar smirk on her lips gracing her pretty features in a way that made him writhe inside, warm and cold...angry and amused. They stared, her eyes narrowing a little bit more; a challenge. His eyes widened in surprise and his upper lip twitched in a dangerous reminder of his temper that only she dared test...at least...the only woman who dared test. He mentally blinked. _Since when has little Sakura been a 'woman'?_

Without realizing how much noise he had made or how quickly he had moved, he grabbed her shoulders and slammed her back against the wall, staring down at her as she beat her not so powerful fists against his chest in fury, her jade eyes flashing wildly..._How dare he throw me around like some one-night stand?_

_Where the hell did that come from?_

Ignoring her sudden concentration lapse she let out a strangled cry and slid her knees up to her chest as if protecting soft organs; he remembered one second too late that his teammate had always been incredibly resilient and powerful when it came to chakra control, and that concentrating it took milliseconds. As a last-ditch effort to hold on to her, he grabbed her hands as she slammed her sandaled feet into his chest; the wind knocked out of him, he retched, but still managed to cling to her fingers and drag her with him as he landed flat on his back, down for the count this round. Her eyes sparkled as she propped her elbows on his chest and laughed obnoxiously in his face; but he wasn't done with her.

Well...maybe he was.

"Erm...Sasuke, Sakura?" asked a quiet, frightened voice.

"What?" they both asked in an annoyed tone, turning their heads in unison to see Hinata standing a few feet away, eyes wide, hand in front of her mouth which muffled her words somewhat.

_Can't they see I'm trying to make him look stupid?_

_Can't they see I'm trying to make her look stupid?_

And it all seemed to freeze in a very awkward way as the couple realized what they were doing and what the others were seeing.

Naruto seemed to be torn between amusement and surprise; he obviously knew what had been happening but did want to draw attention for fear of Lee seeing, but it was far too late for that; Lee was in the middle of the group, standing straight-backed and barely able to disguise the emotions that were running across his face, calculating and toiling behind his eyes. Now he was not the most intelligent one in the bunch, but he was so far from stupid, and it was clear how hurt he was. Tenten glanced edgily at him from a few feet away, slightly opening her mouth as if struggling to say something but not being able to. Hinata just looked extremely embarrassed, as if she had opened a door and walked in on something...well...she _hadn't_ walked in on anything, necessarily. Or maybe she had. Ino and Shikamaru simply blinked, looked at each other, blinked, turned their heads away; repeat as many times as occured.

Sasuke cleared his throat and roughly shoved Sakura off him with one arm. She landed on her back, ruffled, but kneeled and did not speak. "Hn?" he grunted, goading Hinata to ask her question that had interrupted.

"Well, you see," she pressed her fingertips together in agitation, she was still embarrassed. "May we have the map? Sakura has it in her pocket."

"Haha, map, right," Sakura laughed in a high voice, swiftly pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to Hinata, who bowed slightly and uttered a quiet thank you. Everyone was still staring, and a harsh silence fell.

"We'll just be over here, erm, looking for a way out," Naruto said, tugging on Hinata's sleeve and dragging her away, casting a significant look at Sasuke, who predictably glared back. Tenten tapped Lee's elbow but he did not comply, he just continued to stare at the opposite wall in thought. Sasuke was shaking out of anger, for the group continued to stare; Naruto and Hinata had stopped mid-step to continue to gawk.

"**What the hell are you all looking at?"** he demanded in a loud, deadly and dangerous voice, his accent cutting harshly through his words as every syllable shook with anger.

Time went on, and they all shuffled away, but the couple was frozen.

"Oh...my god," Sakura muttered, feeling her own forehead as if she thought she might have a fever. Glancing at Sasuke, she shuffled away toward Ino and tugged on her arm, indicating that they needed to talk, and dragged her away from Shikamaru, who cast a glance at Sasuke and continued to hunch over the map with Naruto. Sasuke turned to face the wall, walked up to it, and slammed his forehead into it.

Flushed, Sasuke closed his eyes.

_What the hell was that...what the hell was I just doing? I hit my head a bit harder than I thought, huh? _

_No, you liar. You were caught up in the moment. A very cute one, might I add. _

_The hell? I have my own head trying to lie to me? I used the word cute?_

_Maybe it's no lie._

_How _embarrassing

But was it all that bad?

"Sasuke, come help us," Naruto demanded, motioning him over to where he and Shikamaru stood; Lee was on the other side of the room with Tenten.

Begrudgingly, he let his unwilling feet carry him over to his friends, who both immediately abandoned looking at the unhelpful map and stared at him.

"What?" he inquired rudely, shoving his hands into his pockets with a scowl on his face...absentmindedly, he tugged on his collar. _God damn it, I'm still warm. Stupid underground room._

Naruto and Shikamaru grinned at each other, then back at Sasuke.

"I'm going to fucking beat the smile off your face if you don't tell me why you keep grinning like someone who just won the lottery," Sasuke snapped loudly, while his shin pulsed. _Bitch and her stupid heels._

"It's just...well...I...we've...never seen you so happy," Naruto eventually stuttered out, most likely not quite sure how to put it into words. Sauske's mouth was a flat line.

"Happy?" he asked, the word foreign and stumbling off his tongue clumsily out of lack of use. He thought. He had just been slamming this girl against the wall, ready to rip out her voicebox to forever silence her obnoxious dirty mouth and then beat her over the head with it. Happy? Not the first thing he would say. But had he really been hurting her? The more he fought with her, physically or otherwise...the more it happened, and the better he felt.

"He's right, you know," Shikamaru supplied in a fairly bored voice, but he was still slightly interested. "I know you probably don't see the 'happy' part right now, but you will. You show affection in a...different way."

"Affection?" the Uchiha spat, forming the word once again as foreign, or as if it were a disgusting piece of food. "Please."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and turned away, glancing at Ino and Sakura still conversing. They had their heads awfully close together for a simple conversation.

"Whatever," Shikamaru said, before Sasuke opened his mouth, a sarcastic retort ready.

"I thought it was cool," Naruto muttered, and the other two turned their puzzled gazes on him.

"Ah, never mind," he corrected. He grinned at his rival cheekily.

Sasuke leaned against the wall, deep in thought, and continued to look cool and unaffected. No wonder he was Kohona's heartthrob.

"What was I doing? What was I thinking? How...what...I told myself I wouldn't–"

"If you don't stop babbling I'm going to knock you out _again_," Ino snapped, cutting across Sakura's panicked ramblings; her friend had not been this stressed out for a very long time, at least, not about Sasuke. "Hey...what's that?"

"What?" Sakura asked casually, jerking her head slightly to her pink locks fall over the skin of her neck; how obvious.

"Not _that_," Ino said, rolling her eyes and dismissing the mark on her neck–how many months had it been?–"that." Her wide blue eyes were staring not at her neck but at her face...particularly her jawline.

"What?" Sakura repeated, not remembering ever hitting her face on anything...she felt around without a thought to any bruises, and a second later she groaned obnoxiously as she roughly jammed her fingers at her jawbone.

"That looks pretty painful," Ino commented unnecessarily.

"Ya think?" her friend replied, blinking away small tears and running her fingers along her jawline gingerly. _Stupid Sasuke and his vicious, flirtatious behavior._

_That didn't come out right, not even in my head! _Inner Sakura raged.

Sakura shrugged, more to herself than anyone outside her mind, and walked away, fingers that had been feeling her face now trailing listlessly against the wall as she walked along it. She just could not handle talking to anyone right now.

"Do you plan to heal that, at least?" Ino asked, hurrying behind her like an annoying shadow.

_Why can't they just leave me alone? Wait a minute, because I'm in a box surrounded by idiots, that's why. I was so wrapped up in...caught...busy healing Sasuke that I nearly forgot we're still stuck in a room with no doors, windows, or–_

"EEK!" Hinata shrieked, stumbling away from the wall, hands outstretched as if to shield herself from a blow that never came; the men ran forward, Naruto well in the lead, and put an arm in front of her to shield her from...a tunnel that had simply appeared in the middle of the wall; the rock hissed and steamed as though it had been branded into the blank expanse that had been there a second earlier.

–_no way out,_ Sakura finished, hurrying forward, Ino on her heels.

"Hinata...you did it!" Naruto cheered, turning and in one swift moment lifting her and swinging her around in a circle, and it did good for her; her expression was one of unnameable happiness and slight embarrassment. She muttered "It was nothing."

But now the group realized the tunnel was pitch black. The atmosphere was uneasy; who dared to be the show off and dart in unprotected, who dared to admit they were afraid enough to hold back? Sakura sighed impatiently and strode to the forefront of the group with bags in hand and pointed. "Let's go! This is probably how we get to this place!"

"Yeah," Tenten agreed, and Sakura turned on her heel and took off at a jog, ignoring the bags cutting into her shoulder; a firm hand made her stop in her tracks.

"What?" she asked rudely; why did he have to be so damn stubborn? Like something was going kill her and eat her.

Sasuke took in a full breath of air and released it, slowly, before speaking, "I'm going first." There was no argument, there was no discussion, and he assumed she would take it as such...but he was wrong.

"So when _Sasuke_ says something, his way goes but when _I _say something, we get sarcastic remarks all around and laughs."

Sasuke's lip curled. "Just about."

There was about half a second of silence in which Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by an obnoxious laugh issuing from the pink-haired girl; she had already taken off, strap cutting into her shoulder and other assorted bags swinging from her arms; she stuck her tongue out over her shoulder at Sasuke, who was livid. She dared disobey his order? Fine...she would pay when he caught up. _God forbid I worry about her safety._

"I hope you trip and fall," he said in a monotonous voice after her shadowed, retreating figure; she did not reply and simply receded into the darkness. Groaning, he followed at a sprint, lowering his head to catch up with her half running, half dancing figure in the unknown. Her laughs still echoed.

The six left all looked at each other and sighed, Lee among them but for a different reason than the others. How was this proving so hard to let her go? He had to talk to her...sometime. Alone.

"It's so pathetically obvious I'm nearly gagging," Shikamaru drawled, beginning to trudge after them with Ino's purple luggage set; Ino followed, nodding in agreement, then Naruto and Hinata, who was still blushing, and finally Lee and Tenten; Lee was lost in a stony silence of jealousy, regret, and loss.

"It's no worse than you and Ino hanging all over each other," Tenten pointed out, nudging Lee and trying to goad him into a happier mood to no avail, and she frowned at the look on his face.

That last statement received no reply but Sakura's echoing giggles from far away and Sasuke's discreet mumbling.

* * *

"Get your _head_ out of my _ass, _whoever is behind me!" 

"Well I'm _so_ sorry, Sakura, but if Naruto wouldn't keep stopping in the middle of the tunnel–"

"Is anyone claustrophobic?" Naruto asked the line obnoxiously, cranning his neck over his shoulder in the limited amount of space they had to see Sakura with a slightly disgusted look on her face; Lee and Sasuke, being taller, were bent nearly double to crawl through the small space, and Lee didn't stop in time to prevent his face from being shoved into Sakura's back end. Sasuke straightened a tiny bit and glowered at Sakura over Lee's shoulder; no doubt this was bothering him.

"Naruto, damn it, MOVE!" Sakura snarled, without thinking, pressing a hand into his back end and shoving him forward ruthlessly which caused him to receive a faceful of Hinata's posterior...not that he seemed to mind. She in turn crashed into Shikmaru, who hit Ino, who hit Tenten.

"I think I see some light above my head," Tenten called back, "pass it on!"

"Hey Lee, Sasuke, Sakura, Tenten said–"

"We're not deaf," the three echoed in startlingly chiming unison.

After the flirtatious games of chase and be chased, they had stumbled upon a small tunnel barely wide enough to crawl through; the signs indicated they were heading in the right direction, but it was certainly proving to be uncomfortable in many ways. It was nearly pitch black, but as if rising from the depths of water to break the surface, so light did shine far above and away.

"Tenten, never pose a hypothetical question toward Naruto," Shikamaru drawled, trying to untangle his arm from the purple strap of the luggage set, glaring at the back of Ino's head.

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Naruto snarled from the rear of the line.

Sasuke groaned and watched as the back of Sakura's neck grew red...god, that was the last thing they needed, her going off on a cursing fest. "Naruto...let it go, Shikamaru, just...I don't know...ignore it and look on the brighter side, or something?"

Shikamaru stopped abruptly, halting the line. Sakura paled, for she knew exactly what he was about to say and she hoped silently that he would not–

"You're certainly one to talk about looking on the brighter side, Uchiha," he uttered, forming the surname with contempt. "That's pretty funny, coming from _you_."

Sasuke opened his mouth ready to verbally abuse the ninja with all the witty one-liners he possessed, but a narrowed, lethal glare from Sakura seemed to invisibly zip his mouth shut; he glared back at her, and she desisted, rolling her eyes and continuing to crawl. To calm his rising anger, he slammed a clenched fist into the side of the tunnel; Sakura's (and Lee's) head whirled around so fast he looked up at her with wide eyes, momentarily distracted that she had reacted so quickly, and her mouth opened. But a strange rumbling that shook the ground around them and caused tiny pebbles to dance across the tightly packed earth interrupted her. She closed her mouth and glared.

"Wasn't me," he muttered, keeping his head down obediently as he continued to follow close behind Lee.

"Hey, I think we're almost out!" Tenten yelled from the front, her voice jubilant with discovery. "There's a tiny sign right here...it's posted above my head."

"What does it say?" Naruto asked, careful to pull himself smaller to avoid touching Sakura; Sasuke gave a grunt of impatience from behind Lee, being the last one in line.

"Destination: Area 13. This sounds like the place. Question is, how do we get out of here?"

Another strange rumble shook the cramped tunnel they now crawled in and Hinata barely hid a terrified squeak; Naruto absentmindedly patted her rear end and said, "Don't worry, we're almost out." Hinata looked over her shoulder and gave him a strange look of confusion and slight disgust, while Sakura disguised a loud giggle by hastily coughing.

"I think this is a trapdoor...presumably square, from what I can see...doesn't need a key or anything." Tenten paused, took a deep breath, and held her weight on her knees, placing her hands on the door above her head. "Here we go."

She pushed; it was easier than expected as she gave a cry as her strength carried her nearly out of the hole; the flimsy trapdoor flew up and out and was nowhere to be seen as Tenten pulled herself out, smiling as she took in deep breaths that did not have that dank feeling about it. Looking around, she kneeled near the hole and stuck her head in, saying, "It's fine! I think we're out!"

Her efforts were rewarded with the average sized duffel of a purple luggage set being smashed into her face; she let herself fall back without grace onto her bottom and rolled her eyes as 3 more bags were shoved up and onto the dusty ground before Ino pulled herself out. Straightening, she dusted herself off and kneeled near the edge and thrust her arms through to pull Shikamaru out. When out, he looked around.

"That seemed extremely easy," he commented, still looking around as if expecting a welcoming committee.

"Help Hinata," Naruto ordered from underground as Hinata's face appeared over the edge, bloodless and sweaty; the joyride underneath the dirt did not seem to have been fun for her as she heaved herself over the side without waiting for anyone's help and clutching her tan coat around her shoulders.

Then Naruto emerged, smiling, and asked if Hinata was okay; she nodded and the rest of them began to stretch, relieving themselves of the burdens brought along, while Sakura strained to heave herself out with her not so strong arms; she sat on the edge and did not put out a hand for Lee. His arms were certainly powerful enough, and he looked at her with concern as she flexed her fingers.

"Can you handle dragging your own weight around with those toothpick arms, Sakura?" Sasuke asked snidely, shoving Lee out of the way as he emerged from underground. Sakura stiffened; while she continued to strengthen herself as much as she could, the fact remained her arms were one great physical weakness she possessed; that one place that she could never seem to concentrate the chakra to help. Legs, fine, torso, easy as pie, fingers even. But not her shoulders and upper arms. And although many females were the same way, the fact that it was often pointed out bothered her greatly. Too frustrated to even concoct a witty retort, she simply snapped, "Shut up," in unison with Lee. Sasuke's onyx eyes narrowed as he straightened to his full majestic height and Lee did the same, while Sakura stared up at them, groaning. _Why do they have to take every opportunity and make something out of nothing?_

"I believe," Sasuke started, slow and cool and even, turning sideways to face Sakura on the ground, standing above her, "That I was talking to the lady, not you," he finished, rounding off his unexpected roundabout compliment with a glare to the green clad ninja. He even reached out, his hand waiting for hers; after a few tense moments of surprise, she complied and let him bring her to her feet, quiet.

Lee gathered up a random assortment of bags and stalked off, the back of his neck red, while Sasuke hung back with Sakura, still grasping her hand and surveying the clearing as if waiting an attack.

"Why'd you say that?" Sakura asked, tugging on his hand to drag him toward the rest of the group.

"Because it sounded cool," Sasuke replied nonchalantly, letting go of her hand and walking slowly with her. "Now why are you dragging me to be part of the group when you know better than anyone I don't like people?"

"Because..." Sakura paused. Why couldn't they hang back? Because Sasuke had never let her before.

"Maybe two is better," he added, but he sped up a bit to rejoin the group in his oh-so-dramatic way, hair falling in his eyes and staring around with a brooding facade.

A hushed silence fell over the eight young adults as they stood facing the towering compound that now stood in their way to conquer and intimidate; it seemed to work. It seemed to be an unfathomable sort of thing, what with it standing in their way and seeming to leer at their presence; it you compared by size, they were insignificant. Only seemingly fragile barbed wire held it all in; twisting, barbed vines intertwined with the black metal that was all around the compound. The ivy was alive, reaching in every direction to thoroughly barrage any who dared touch it with welts from dangerously pointed leaves and barbs. Towering; as far as the eye could see, looking up the walls seemed to reach clear to heaven, and the very top of the encampment was uncovered, leaving the trees to penetrate and stretch toward the sky like the hands of a fallen man in battle, waiting for assistance that would never come. Or maybe they were simply praying. Billowing clouds hovered balefully over the air above the compound like a sick disease, and to complete the illustration, there was no visible door or way to enter.

"..."

"Um..."

"Am I the only one who doesn't see a door?"

"Quiet, Naruto."

Naruto glared at Sasuke and folded his arms; Sakura left his side to closer inspect the compound outsides. There was no door...no way to enter, not that she was sure she wanted to. It was positively creepy in a way that she would never admit.

"Look!" Shikamaru exclaimed, pointing into a seemingly normal bush. Upon his further inspection, the corner of a white sign was visible through the dense foliage and stated nothing more than: **Area 13. Permission to enter required. Current Status; Forbidden.**

"Hm. We don't exactly have permission," Shikamaru told the group after letting the branch fall back over the sign.

"Well...maybe we do," Hinata announced shyly, and blushed a bit as everyone set their puzzled gazes on her. Fumbling with the clasps of her bag, she produced her golden scroll. "This is what states the reason for which we will be using this compound."

"You're right," Naruto said, grinning widely at her and pulling his own scroll, considerably wrinkled, from the depths of his orange jacket pocket. "But how do we-"

"**OH**!" Hinata cried and grabbed Naruto's jacket and yank him away as a kunai came whistling out of a nearby bush and effectively pinned the golden scroll to the ground. It vanished in a puff of smoke; had Hinata not grabbed him, his hand would have gone with it.

"Heh, thanks," he replied, but not before the rest of the group dropped their scrolls onto the ground and backed away, wary.

"Stay back!" Sasuke ordered the group as another kunai whizzed by dangerously close to his ear, although the target was not for him. His scroll was pierced through also, before disappearing in a tiny cloud of smoke. They waited as each scrolls was pinned with a weapon, then they vanished...

The smoke cleared away, and where each had been was a shimmering sign; the Hidden Leaf Village sign that had led them all this way. 8 now flashed and shimmered like the ocean surface in the afternoon sun and they hesitated, not sure how to continue.

On a whim, Sakura poked the sign cautiously with her foot, and grimaced as it smeared across the dirt, vibrant colors staining the ground like blood...it seconds, however, with a strange gurgling noise, it reformed itself to keep the sign intact as it had been before. "Ew."

"Step on it," Lee suggested, walking over to where his scroll had been a few seconds earlier. "Completely." To show his point, he placed his entire foot over the symbol and pressed as if squashing an unwanted pest into the dirt. The liquid seeped out from underneath his shoe but did not merge together again; the rest followed suit.

"Gross," Ino said, her face twisted in a disgusted look as she heard the liquid squelch beneath her sandal.

As each person pressed their foot onto the symbol, the ground began to shake. Naruto sighed.

"I'm really getting sick of all this secrecy...would it be so goddamned hard just to put a sign that says 'Enter?' or 'Here!' or 'Contest winners go this way'?"

"I think this is fun," Tenten said, shrugging and keeping her balance fine as the ground shook harder; out of the corner of her eye, she saw the ground begin to fall through again. "Look there!"

They pivoted to see; another square shaped hole had appeared in the ground, only this time there were solid stairs to lead them underground.

"At least we're not crawling again," Naruto grumbled, and Hinata involuntarily shuddered at the thought.

One by one, bags dragged behind them out of fatigue and annoyance, they trooped down the stairs, hoping that this was leading them to the destination.

* * *

"Are we there yet," Naruto whined, kicking a nearby rock embedded in packed dirt to his right; all he earned was a throbbing pain in his toe, which he complained about immensely as he limped up the stairs. 

"**Yes**!" Sakura snapped, rubbing her temples to rid her conscious of his constant babbling. The stairs were now going up again, and Sakura dropped all the bags she was carrying and nearly broke her neck running up the last few stairs and viciously shoving the trapdoor open; in one swift movement she was out, twirling around in a circle while Sasuke emerged, Lee and Naruto close behind, all watching her as if debating her sanity.

"I really was starting to worry 'bout you," Lee said, shaking his head and dropping his bags to the ground once more. The rest of them emerged from the hole behind them; as Hinata, the last one in line, stepped out, it disappeared, leaving them clustered in a group with a barbed fence behind them...those same branches reaching out, ready to grab...

"Hey...we're in!" Tenten exclaimed. "The wall is behind us now, which means we're on the other side.

"It's _so_ difficult to put in a door," Naruto exclaimed sarcastically, lugging his bags behind him. "What do we do now?"

"Well, this says the first task to complete is set up camp," Shikamaru announced to the group as a whole, purple bags piled next to him and rolled scroll in hand.

"Where'd you find that?" Tenten asked incredulously.

"In that," Shikamaru said, pointing to a small nest in a nearby tree that was clearly hollowed out for the sole purpose of being a mailbox. "It gave us a map, and said the best place to set up camp was deeper, because the rivers are in there."

"Makes sense," Sakura piped up, picking up her dropped bags and looking expectantly at Shikamaru, who pointed forward.

"March on!"

So in small groups they went along, stopping every now and then to look at bushes and assorted trees; there were many strange things they were finding along the way, and if they hazarded a guess, it was clear they were nowhere near the actual heart of the compound. Hinata was last in line, eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration as she fingered her tan jacket, pursing her lips slightly at the state of it; caked, streaked, and stained with dark mud and clay. Naruto looked over his shoulder to find her walking slowly along, weaving, as she tried to rub some of it off to no avail.

"Hey," he said, running back to meet her; instinctively, the other 6 proceeded to point out uninteresting things in louder voices to give them some time alone. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh...of course not, Naruto," Hinata said quietly, draping her jacket over her folded arms and holding it to her chest.

"Um...wait," Naruto said apologetically, and put down the bags he was carrying and grinned; he then proceeded to unzip and shrug himself out of his orange coat as though her were a caterpillar peeling of it's homey chrysalis. He held it out to her startled and puzzled face, his defined arms shaking slightly as she continued to stare at him as though he had lost his mind. After a few tense moments, she complied and nodded yes, reaching for the proffered clothing item, but he danced out of her reach and draped it over her shoulders; she pulled it closer and smiled.

"Thanks," she said barely above a whisper, and to prevent her from noticing the blush creeping up his cheeks (something that, like most ninja his age, he was not used to) he cleared his throat unnecessarily and hurried to catch up with the rest of the group, who sighed as he chickened out and ran up, as though it was an everyday thing.

The kind gesture had been far too much for Hinata, who continued to hang back, her mind elsewhere and the gap between growing too much for comfort in an unknown place.

_Why does he do those things for me...I didn't even need to ask..._

The group ahead consulted the map in loud voices before proceeding to take the right side of the fork.

Little did Hinata know walking along alone was so dangerous...little did she know that the average ninja could take advantage of her silence, her introverted nature and distance from help and quiet her in a matter of milliseconds and haul her away, unnoticed to her friends.

And now she traveled down the left side of the fork instead of the right, where the rest of her friends had gone, she was whisked away in a light rustle, her squeaks of surprise masked.

"Naruto, you chickened out!" Sakura scolded, walking along with Sasuke on side, Lee on the other, silently fighting to see who could prove a better unmoving bodyguard without being too obvious. Needless to say with the constant huffing and glares, it was proving to not be as discreet as they wanted...not that they cared.

"Well...she started staring at me with those big, white eyes and...I don't know...it was sort of weird, so I just let her be, is that a crime?"

"You were physically affected by her quiet charm and attention," Sakura said with experience, laughing, stopping as she saw Sasuke and Lee walking on either side of her. "You two don't need to hover over me!"

"I'm not, he is," they echoed in unison; to further prove their points, they both stalked away from her, fuming.

"Go back there right now and start a conversation," Sakura ordered, stopping and spinning her friend around by the shoulders to march him back to Hinata...except Hinata wasn't there. Naruto stopped abruptly, Sakura running into him and looking over his shoulder.

"Hinata?" Naruto called cautiously, taking slow steps back the way he had come, Sakura close behind, puzzled.

"Hinata!"

His frantic call caught the attention of the rest of the group; they hurried back, slowly realizing something was terribly wrong; as if something poisonous and terrible were closing in, each ninja stepped into defensive formations known from childhood. Sakura quickly dropped her bags, placed her fingers together, ready...almost ready...she watched Naruto, panic that she could not quell but could not show rising in her breast, taking in everything she could see...where was he?

_You're pathetic...you still need someone backing you up. _

_God, why do you need to bother me now?_

Oh, was Inner Sakura a trying bitch.

Relaxation flooded her body and mind as she felt his comforting presence behind her; they were now back to back, ready to take whatever came, and she tensed as he did...to wait. Stupid Sasuke, waiting until the last minute like a hero.

"**Hi-na-ta!**" Naruto thundered, as though yelling at a disobedient dog, as though she was simply ignoring him, but the panic in his voice was still a minimum.

And then she was there, standing in the middle of a clearing, her body nothing but a hulking, slumped puppet of what it had been mere minutes before. There was no way it was her...and yet...she slipped to her knees and tugged in vain at all the sharp little weapons piercing her pale skin, her eyes begging like a dying puppy's for Naruto's attention, his help...crimson ran rivets down her bloodless face, her shoulders shook uncontrollably in the broad orange material that Naruto had draped around her shoulders.

Sakura, still standing back-to-back in a defensive formation with Sasuke, took a few stumbling steps toward Naruto and grabbed his arm; everyone looked at her as her eyes rested on Hinata's bloody form.

"Please...help me..."

"NO!" Sakura yelled back at her, startling everyone at large; Naruto stared at Sakura with a mixture of fury and disbelief; Sasuke knew this could not be true...that could not be Hinata sitting there, dying, and yet, he could not prove it wrong.

A rustle–

A gasp–

Naruto jerked away from the medic's tight grasp and ran; he ran in there hoping, he ran in there praying for everything to be alright; how could life be so cruel and twist his existence in a matter of minutes...no...seconds? This was so wrong, and yet it was unfolding before his eyes. It _had_ to be her. She had only just disappeared...it _was_ her...he had to protect her from that last knife, or it was over.

Time slowed to nearly nothing...his footsteps echoed on the ground with a strange hollow sound...

He was so close, and Naruto's fingers were outstretched, ready to cradle that girl and stop anything coming her way...

If only Sakura had allowed it.

He felt her reach and brush his ankle; he was filled with such a fury and lashed, feeling the bottom of his sandal connect with a part of her face; groans emitted from the crowd. But her second grab was effective as she wrapped her arms around his waist and forced her weight on him, so he crashed to the ground face first and felt the kunai rip a few strands of hair as it missed him and continued on toward it's intended target.

"DON'T LOOK!" Sakura screamed in a wretched voice, and Naruto felt hot tears seep through the back of his shirt; the stupid boy looked anyway as horrified gasps issued from the ninja behind them and that last tool of death slammed with incredible force into Hinata's chest; her body jerked in shocked response and her mouth was open as wide as her eyes in a 'O' of disbelief as she put out her hands to cup her own blood in them.

She raised her eyes to face Naruto and stared at him from her kneeling position. Naruto turned in disbelief to look over his shoulder at Sakura and hissed at her–

"How–dare–you–"

Footsteps sounded...hurrying, worried feet were coming...confused murmurs from confused people were heard and polluted the shocked silence with doubt. None of them understood...none of them knew what happened.

Hinata squeaked; 7 heads swivelled toward her...

She took her final, rattling breath in deep...closed her eyes...and screamed.

* * *


	6. The Purposeful Fire

**Rating upped to Mature.

* * *

**

**Chapter 6: The Purposeful Fire**

_Watch me suffer-_

_Watch me bleed-_

_I am a warning that you must heed-_

_The fire that takes oh-so-many forms_

_From reality to a distorted_

_Carbon copy of the norm._

"IT'S NOT HER!" Sakura shrieked, although you wouldn't believe it by looking at her tearstained, stricken face; she actually reached for Naruto's face and tried to cover his eyes with her own hands, as if children again, playing a game of "Guess who?". "You're strong, Naruto, don't look!"

She continued to scream...birds took flight from trees in panic, and how it echoed in that compound that they had only spent the better part of 5 minutes in. It was positively creepy.

"But–but–she," he spluttered, not making sense of any sort, his hand reaching out toward the girl that continued to huddle and sob, cupping her fragile hands to keep the blood blossoming from her chest inside. It stained; running in rivets over her pale fingers and puddles now grew on the ground around her...it was so real to him...but it _couldn't_ be...it was some sick, twisted tale that only happened in nightmares. And no one was confident enough to do a thing except sit, stare, stand and watch.

"Sakura..." Sasuke muttered, tugging at the back of her shirt. "If it's not her...then why are you crying?"

"Shut up," she replied, letting Sasuke gently pull her off Naruto, who simply kneeled and stared.

"URGH!" Tenten cried, jumping backward as a bundle of rags landed with a soft 'thoomph' in front of her. It twitched.

"What is that?" Shikamaru said quietly, pointing to the bundle as it shuddered.

"MOVE!" Ino yelled, shoving Shikamaru out of the way with two hands and followed as another landed with another 'thoomph' where he had been seconds earlier.

The sky began to rain bundles; as if tiny starving children were wrapped within and had fallen from God's arms, they landed slowly as if something invisible had held them gently before hitting the ground and leaving them to rest and be cradled by the air. They rocked, they shuddered, they whined.

"Naruto...that's _not_ Hinata-"

"Then what the hell was it?" he spat, closing his eyes and forcing himself to turn away from the impersonation of Hinata, who rocked and shuddered, eyes darting this way and that as the covered bundles settled onto the forest floor.

"Probably a transformation jitsu...at least...I think...but then...someone else is in here besides us."

"Who would do that, though?" Naruto replied, shaking.

"Whoever is pulling the strings of this morbid game," Sasuke interrupted, still kneeling next to Sakura.

"In any case...they knew that impersonating Hinata would get to you..." Sakura told Naruto, getting to her feet; she started as a bundle landed in front of her and grimaced as it shuddered and rocked. "And I don't want to know what those are. We should just continue on."

"But then where's the real Hinata? Are you absolutely _sure_ that-"

"Trust me...I do plenty of paperwork."

Naruto gave her a questioning look. She sighed.

"After the Chuunin preliminaries and her fight with her cousin, Neji, she took a permanent cut in overall stamina that was dangerously low for her age and rank, That's why she was assigned training with people she'd never let herself fall behind, hence, you, Naruto. A particular blow damaged a semi-vital chakra point on her right side...her usual dominant side was corrupted and she had to be trained to use her left as the dominant strength. It's all written in her file."

There was a pause in which Sakura pointed to the imitation on the ground, who uttered a painful squeak and slumped. "The imitation obviously didn't pay attention enough...it's been favoring the right as most ninja do."

The three turned to observe the imitation, who now lay prostrate, shivering; Naruto had an expression of pity still set on his handsome features, but seemed to be struggling to tell himself that this was all a sick joke.

"Okay...fine...then were the hell is the _real_ Hinata?" he asked in a would-be calm voice.

"How am I supposed to **know**?" Sakura shot back, her temper rising out of distress; she pointed a finger at him as if he were a little child and continued. "I don't know why everyone has to press all the fucking questions on me as if I know what's going on!"

"Well, normally, you act like you do, Mrs. Know It All, that's why we ask and when no one cares what you _do_ have to say, _you still keep talking!" _

Sasuke winced; that sounded like something he would say, not Naruto...Naruto was extremely distressed; but would he admit that? Never, but taking it out on someone (like most people did) or directing blame would work just as well.

"You guys, can we just go find Hinata and get away from these...whatever these things are on the ground _that are starting to twitch!_" Ino finished, crouching slightly behind Shikamaru as indeed, the bundles rocked and twitched, as if there were tiny animals struggling to remove themselves from the folds. A silence fell as they all looked at her, and in that quick, desperate silence the whining began.

Lee stared at Sakura as she struggled to ignore it; the panicked, wretched whining issuing from the bundles that sounded so much like suffering children; she swallowed and wrapped her fingers tightlyin a desperate grip around Naruto and Sasuke's arms and tugged; even Sasuke stood his ground.

"We have to know what's in tho-"

"No, we don't. It's another trick. They want us to slow down. They want us to stop and dawdle so we can't set up camp. We have to leave them-" Sakura babbled, walking slowly backward.

"What about Hinata?" Naruto snarled, ripping his arm away from her.

"We...will find her...along the way..." Sakura said slowly, eyes never leaving the huddled bundles on the ground as she backed away. Ino and Shikamaru looked at her, and Tenten was hesitant to leave something crying on the ground.

"Do it **NOW**!" Sakura shrieked, kicking the one nearest her away, and it skidded across the dusty ground and slammed into the opposite tree trunk, earning her some mixed looks, some were disgusted, others pitiful, and one was surprised by her callousness and yet, her strength.

Sakura took off, not bothering to wait for anyone else, straight past the Hinata impersonation, who now seemed to be having a mild sort of seizure; slowly the others followed, though carefully around the unidentified objects on the ground, and Naruto was the last one out of the clearing as he stopped near the clone.

"Naruto, come on!" Tenten called over her shoulder, close behind Lee.

Naruto shook his head no in stubborn response and Tenten stopped and waited, not wanting to leave him behind.

"Naruto, there's nothing you can find out from-" she started, but speech was lost to shock as Naruto deftly whipped a kunai from his pocket and roughly stabbed it through where a heart should have been on the clone of Hinata; he made sure to hit between the ribs, not flinching as the impersonation writhed and twisted beneath like a dying fish. They waited in silence until the final, rattling breath commenced. She did not move.

Whether it was someone impersonating her until death or a clone, Naruto's eyes narrowed in passionate hate.

"If you _are_ a person...I hope you die."

* * *

"LET GO!" 

"We should stop," Sasuke told the group, breathing heavily in between holding Sakura against a large tree trunk as she swung, this way and that; luckily he knew her punches fairly well and had amazing reflexes, or there would've been a fair amount of shattered bone lingering from this opposition. The sun was nearly set, and heavy shadows were cast; Kohona was already thrown into darkness.

"I'm fine!" Sakura whined, still swinging. "You're the only one who seems to have a problem!"

And with that, her fist at long last connected with his skull and he tumbled, pulling her with him, to end up on the ground with him on his stomach, her straddling him, with her fingers to his neck as though she did not mind ripping it open. "_I'm. Fine._"

"It was a bit...trying on all of us, okay Sakura?" Lee interjected, trying to feel caring instead of jealous as he walked over and took her by the waist with his strong arms and slid her off Sasuke, whose face was screwed up in pain and hair in his face.

He blew a stray strand out of his vision and muttered a few choice words that now gave Lee a hard time as he attempted to restrain her; she'd nearly leaped back on the pretentious Uchiha, and Lee didn't really want to see that again.

"Okay, seriously, that's not the problem, we're missing a member of the group, that's dangerous, and that means that any one of us could be taken as well," Tenten said knowledgeably, while Ino nodded in agreement, her ears still ringing from the frightening cries. Shikamaru was leaning against a tree, picking at his nails and being insufferably unhelpful, while Naruto could only pace, a trait he had almost definitely picked up from Sasuke, who noticed this. Back and forth in the dirt, kicking it every so often, the look on his face extremely pained, yet his eyes were blank; who knew what was going on in his mind, after being forced to watch her suffer? It was all there in plain sight, how they felt for each other, but like any other (decent) ninja, feelings like those were just out of the question.

"Well then let's make camp first, then we can decided what to do!" Sakura snapped, trying to assume order once again.

"Decide what to do about what?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Heads looked up and swivelled to find-

* * *

_**The Outskirts of Kohona**_

_**11:59 pm.**_

This part of Kohona was quiet and already settled down for the night; in fact, it had been settled for a couple hours already. Children sleeping, parents resting, the only ones awake the small military force assigned to watch this area...

It needed more than protection tonight. Only a miracle.

One light remained on that wasn't very visible from the street; long, unkempt foliage densely blocked it and the grass was tall and also not taken care of, for the woman didn't see too much of a reason anymore. She was never called upon and had no one to talk to, and her only daughter did not speak to her.

And had not for years.

**I don't want to sleep tonight**

**There's monsters in my room**

**They wait until the lights go out**

**And fill the room with gloom.**

In her cozy living room she sighed, brushing stray pink locks out of her face and concentrating on her embroidery, the only task she had left to occupy her nowadays. She was the sort of woman who loved to host get togethers, plan reunions, the kind of mother that loved having her childrens' friends' over and making them cookies and talking with them and loving them as if they were her own. She missed them. Naruto, the upstanding gentleman Lee, Neji, the ever-obnoxious yet faithful Ino...

But not that Uchiha boy. Not that pretentious son of a bitch, sorry excuse for a man that stole her daughter away and clouded her judgement.

When he'd left, she was a bit happier...she felt her daughter had wasted time and training and effort on that boy, that one who was above everybody, so screwed up inside, and never paid her lovely daughter the time of day.

She knew that Sasuke had loved her daughter. But she didn't want her kin to deal with that type of responsibility, that type of heartbreak that came with loving someone so hard to break through.

**I don't want to be alone tonight**

**To listen to what I think**

**The touch, the smell, the sounds**

**Of a melancholy 'tink'**

**From the clock that ticks so slowly**

**Counting down the time**

**I have only seconds to live**

**And here I stitch flowers and thyme**

**I don't want to sleep tonight**

**I have no one here with me**

**Every day it's been the same routine**

**But I had to let you be.**

This time, nothing could be prevented.

The candle lights that she whittled away her eyesight with were snuffed out in a shuddering breath that was not her own; although frightened, she knew this was coming, because she still kept up with what was going on. Her own daughter would not speak with her, yet someone always told her what was happening, how her daughter was, how her friends were, how her training came along. Hatake Kakashi was her favorite sensei of them all.

But he had not come for days. She had heard the heart wrenching news...and when it was clear that this was the onlyarea that had not been hit, well, it was blatantly obvious and thrown out there like an unwanted puppy into the middle of the road. She expected, but that was okay...she didn't like her life like this anymore.

She sat in the dark and waited.

**I don't want to die tonight**

**I don't want to be alone**

**I wish I'd seen you one last time**

**To see how much you've grown**

They stealthily danced in the dark, surrounding her now fragile body that she had let herself become; a dance of impending doom they spun, she surely knew there were more than one, and they teased her so ruthlessly; open wounds stung in the chilly air as slashes appeared here and there, her face, her arms, a couple across the back of the neck, but nothing fatal.

She vaguely wondered why they toyed...they should have known that she knew.

And now that she was gone...they were leading her only daughter into hell and down the twisted path of revenge that she had already experienced when trying to help Uchiha.

She remembered the last time she'd spoken with her daughter's former sensei:

"_She's stressed. They all are. Of course, she has an important job and I think she likes being busy. Just like you."_

_It warmed her heart to hear Kakashi's words; her daughter was very much like her. _

"_But she hasn't talked to you? Not even for-"_

"_No," she interrupted, her head hung, slightly ashamed. "Not for mother's day."_

_A long silence ballooned in such an awkward way; while Kakashi had never been a parent, he fairly understood what she was being put through. They lived only 10 miles apart from each other and not spoken since 3 Christmases ago. _

**I will be strong **

**I won't close my eyes**

**I wish I'd spoken**

**But _she _never tries...**

And in the darkness echoed her final gasp of pain; they had spent the better part of a minute circling her like a merry-go-round eager for a rest, and now she did not even try as she felt the warm blood seep through, down her legs and forming rivets around her ankles that did not work so much anymore.

_Had_ not worked so much anymore.

**I don't want to sleep tonight**

**The monsters taken fly**

**I know I have no choice anymore**

**And now I have to die.**

Slumping, she reached to her small wooden table that had been near her armchair since she could remember; with gentle touch she took the framed picture of her daughter off the table and held it with shaking fingers, slowly losing life. With the last of her strength she brought it to her lips and gently kissed it.

"I wish...I'd said...I was sorry...

"_I love you, my baby._"

And the picture hit the floor, the echoing shattering the last sound she heard in her ears before consciousness had left. The clock stuck midnight.

* * *

_Somewhere within the compound-_

"Oh, my, god," Ino choked out, putting a hand over her face as if to shield bright sunlight; she quickly spun out of the way as Naruto charged past her and everyone else to choke Hinata with a very rare display of affection. But he did not hold her tenderly, necessarily, it was a desperate grab and pull to his chest, frenzied and dizzy as he made sure it was really her, taking in scent and feel and everything that _was_ his girl.

"What happened?" he demanded, speaking into her neck as she slowly began to return the hug; he pulled away and held by the front of her jacket in a frightening and possessive way, but he was not hurting her. Eyes darted, from her head to her toes, to her chest to her neck, looking her over expecting something to be wrong on her, but there was not...except...

"That!" he burst out, gaze fixed to a tiny red spot behind her ear, as if she'd scratched it once or twice from an itch, she lifted her chin and shook blue hair over it and forced a smile.

"Oh, Naruto, you are...being paranoid," she told him gently, to the surprise of the others; she returned the hug completely, hiding the supposed 'injury' by pressing her face into his chest. "I'm fine."

Naruto opened his mouth and did not know how to speak...how was he supposed to say how worried he was? He couldn't.

Her charm fooled him, but it didn't fool Tenten; she didn't know if anyone else caught the hesitancy, the lie that was so obvious to her. She lived with this girl...she knew.

"What did you do that for, did you wander off or something?" Naruto asked, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, eyes maddeningly wide. They all waited as she swallowed a couple times, and she pulled away, her arms retreating to her sides and predictably, her fingers began to twist. It was nothing new...but Tenten noticed. Tenten tried to catch Lee's eye; surely he could sense the ominousness too? But no, _that stupid lovesick boy_ was staring at Sakura, who was watching the touching scene between Naruto and Hinata with a smile on her beautiful face and her ever-faithful body guard at her shoulder. His expression was fairly blank...maybe slightly nauseated.

Tenten didn't know what Sakura saw in him.

"Um...I didn't really wander...I just didn't pay attention...I'm sorry..."

"As long as you're alright now, god, Hinata, you...you..."

"I'm sorry I scared you," she said in a fearful whisper, head lowered in shame and respect. "I...didn't mean to."

Tenten bit her tongue for...probably the fourth time now. Why was nobody fucking questioning? It looked like her but...no one knew for sure, and she came back without a scratch and there was still the matter of the mark on her neck.

_That I'm sure is something more. Come on Tenten...open your mouth...god, I can't. I'll sound like a heartless bitch..._

Ignoring the conversations raging in her head, Tenten glanced at Sakura, who was not smiling now; a scrutinizing look was on her features, mimicked almost scarily well by Sasuke, who was looking Hinata up and down with narrowed eyes.

"Well...I think we should keep going...it's almost dark and we should set up camp soon," Sakura said in a very erect way, carelessly shrugging away from Sasuke and pulling out the folded map as if nothing had happened. Naruto and Hinata stood very close, and the shorter girl's pupil-less eyes were struggling to remain blank...yet toiling...they couldn't see and they couldn't pull it out of her. There was something wrong.

But that confirmed that it was definitely her.

"I need a-"

A hand appeared over her shoulder and dancing firelight cast twirling shadows over the parchment; Sakura gave Sasuke a twisted smile as he moved his hand over the parchment closer so she could read.

"So we can do this without speaking now?" she inquired flirtatiously, and Sasuke eyed her up and down before looking at her and replying with an almost there smirk; "Hn."

"Soon you're going to be a man of _no _words," Sakura chided, glancing at him again and then back at the map; after a moment of thought in which the atmosphere was tense: Tenten was eyeing Naruto and Hinata suspiciously, who were simply standing, watching their teammates flirt, and Lee had his arms crossed as if this was not bothering him. Ino had her arm linked with Shikamaru's and was pointing at random stars, while continued to correct her, since most of the constellations she had pointed out were pronounced wrong. He rolled his eyes and nudged her cheek his nose, breathing "Troublesome blonde," and she giggled.

"If I've read this right, we should head that way," Sakura pointed into the dark, "for only a quarter of a mile...we should reach a clearing that has a river running on the east side of the pines, and we should quickly set up camp.

"Why do we have to rush?" Naruto asked. "We have a while, don't we?"

"What do you mean, we only have..." Sakura trailed off, face puzzled as she slowly came to realize something. She slapped her forehead. "Oh my god."

"What?" Lee asked, strolling up on her other side; Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"How long are we supposed to be surviving out here?" she demanded, as though a little elf would come from a bush and answer her question to nobody.

There was a long silence.

* * *

"I think we're here!" Ino yelled, jumping off of Shikamaru's back and leaving him with the bags that he dragged behind him; she ran into the middle of the clearing and twirled around in a circle; her boyfriend dragged the bags all the way up to her and left them in a pile at her feet. 

"I'm not unpacking this crap," he stated flatly, heading for a nearby bush.

"Where are _you_ going?" Ino inquired, shaking her fist after him.

"Where you think? I've been carrying about 500 pounds on my back and I didn't get to stop to piss," he replied, annoyed, hurrying into the darkness. Ino swore loudly at him and sat on the ground, lying on her back to gaze up at the stars, grumbling.

"That was _disgustingly_ coarse," she shrieked at him from her random spot on the ground; Tenten jammed a pole viciously into the dirt quite close to Ino's head and Ino gave her a dirty look as Tenten continued to put up her tent, an uncharacteristically haughty demeanor about her. Ino's eyes narrowed in the way of a lioness and she sat up.

"What's wrong with you?" Ino demanded, looking up at the slightly less prissy girl and raising a blond eyebrow.

"Do you plan to move, or am I going to have a fat lump putting a crick in my back all night?" Tenten snapped, before she realized what she had said; Ino stood up, about an inch taller, and faced her, square on. The others turned around and froze; Naruto and Lee looked at each other, and along with Sasuke, backed up ever so slightly. The men were not keen on having a fight a few minutes into the game.

Shikamaru came out of the bushes, whistling and seeming slightly happier; he froze at the sight of his girlfriend face to face with Tenten, who had a reputation of pulling weapons on people faster than anyone. Remembering this, he dared open his mouth:

"Erm...Ino...what are you doing?" he asked, watching his blonde girlfriend stare down the brunette with a gaze that looked as though she were slicing her apart.

"About to tell off this _bitch_ that had the nerve to call me fat," she hissed, upper lip twitching slightly. Tenten's fingers twitched dangerously toward her pocket; what she wouldn't give to pull a painful needle on the girl, straight in the neck...she wasn't in the mood. Not tonight, with a lack of sleep and a painful memory weighing on her mind.

"Oh, okay then," Shikamaru said, waving an uncaring hand and turning around, he began to walk away, hands in pockets. "Have fun with that-"

"I'm coming with you! We'll go get...wood or something," Naruto piped up, hurriedly following Shikamaru to the darkness.

"Yeah, you two do that...wusses," Sasuke muttered, and he added, "There's a river 'round here, right?"

"Come on," Sakura said, smiling slightly and pocketing the map as they strolled slowly away from the clearing, and left the two girls silently battling, Hinata to break it up, and Lee alone.

And so Lee walked away.

To where, he didn't really know, and wandering aimlessly was something that was not necessarily safe, especially with the current events of today, but it was all he could do, for his mind was tired and his heart, broken. Watching them interact was almost more than he could stand, he had to talk to her some time.

_God, Sakura...I still love you._

* * *

Moonlight twinkled and cast shadows upon the long river that wound near the clearing and out of sight; Sakura crouched over the bank and slowly undid her hair that was up in her headband...she had let it grow to a length nearly as long as before, but not quite there. Not for anyone else but her. 

Sasuke sat against a tree trunk in the shadows; although he was with her, it was almost as if she was alone, unraveling herself like an angel descended from heaven...amazing how this girl could make taking down hair and washing her face something worth his time. Onyx orbs flashed in the shadows as they watched her settle, so unusual from what she normally was, uptight, rushed, snappish and sarcastic.

The pink-haired angel plunged her hands beneath the cold surface and cupped clear water in her fingers, pausing to glance at her reflection with the help of moonlight before splashing in on her face in a therapeutic way. She shivered slightly, but let out a contented sigh and stood, brushing off her knees and standing up, her long hair flowing over her shoulders.

She giggled. "I see you there, you know. Little peeping Tom."

Sasuke let out a snort of amusement and stood also, stretching. "I know, watching you wash your face is so sexually attracting."

"That it is," she countered, and Sasuke didn't laugh at that. _I don't laugh when I'm wrong._

In the dark she was fiddling with something...

"What are you doing?" he asked..._why do I sound so apprehensive?_

"Hn," she replied, just to annoy him. He bristled.

"I can't get this stupid zipper," she continued, gathering her hair up into a ponytail in her hand; she turned to him and pointed at the back of her neck. "Get that."

There was a silence.

"..."

"Are you deaf, Uchiha?" she snapped, being her usual self again. She jabbed her finger for emphasis. "I can't breathe here."

Very slowly, he grasped the cold silver zipper between his fingers...it was small..._she _was small, he realized, seeing how short she was and how tightly her outfit clung to her-

_...Wow..._

His hesitancy earned him a painful elbow in the ribs and she huffed. "Seriously!"

Sasuke just realized what Sakura had meant by her excuse that she could not breathe and had a double-take.

"HN!" he answered back, biting back a rude comment and began unzipping her outfit; he placed his thumbnail on top and let it drag down the soft skin of her back as it went, and she twisted in maybe ticklishness, maybe comfort. Either way, she couldn't hide the quiet moan of pleasure that uttered from her mouth that made his hair stand on end...she leaned her head back against his shoulder with her eyes closed and her eyelashes fluttered as she let out a deep breath...In turn, he let out quick breaths on her neck and finally let the cold silver go, instead trailing all of his fingers down her back, beginning from the top...hearing her gasp made him respond by jabbing tense fingernails into her skin, and she let out a quiet laugh that echoed in his ears.

"Trying to hurt me, Sasuke?" she asked in a low voice, placing a hand behind his head and running long fingers through his locks. "'Cause that...didn't hurt."

_Bitch...laughing at me...I'll show you that you don't want me to hurt you._

The stoic man stiffened at the sound of her quiet laughing and growled dangerously, an animal in the tall, wavering grasses. With reflexes and ability born from years of training and born experience he spun her around, parrying her defense and threw his weight upon her...they were falling.

The ground up to meet her and she let out a 'Ha!' and he pressed his nose to hers, teeth bared in a reminiscent way; his strong chiseled arms held her fast by the shoulders and his legs were tangled with hers and still, she couldn't seem to get that smirk off her face.

"I'd shut up if I were you," he hissed, eyes narrowed.

"I'd _give_ up if I were you," she retorted, twisting a bit underneath him and succeeding in reaching her arms and gripping the bottom of his shirt and twisting it around her fists. A frightening laugh.

"Please," Sasuke said quietly, his hands behind her back, fingernails, while short, now penetrating layers of skin. "You can't win."

"You'll eat those fucking words," she replied, arching her back in delight and dragging her own fingernails under his shirt, down his back, feeling the shapely contour of his back. "Oh, yes you will."

Despite being in the chilly air, perspiration dotted Sasuke's face and he brought his face down to hers, the ends of his locks brushing her flushed face, and she tilted up to meet him, with a silent dare to wipe the grin off her face. He was now on his elbows, fists clenched, while she continued to pull him closer and-

"**AAAAUGH!"**

His elbow slipped, the grin slid off her face, he received a face full of amplebreast while she instinctively drove a knee into his groin; he rolled off and wheezed while Sakura already had a kunai in hand.

"Oh god...we shouldn't have left, get up, will you?" she added, gesturing impatiently as he slowly stood, recently injured knee giving a bit and he took a deep breath, expression furious. "Zip this up, damn it, come on!"

She took off running and he followed on her heels, awkwardly zipping her red dress as they went; when he was finished he sped up and ran past her...they burst into the clearing to find Hinata with her arms crossed defensively in front of her face, protecting Ino, while Tenten crouched on the ground, shaking, weapons between every finger and blood in her eye.

"Tenten!" Lee yelled, emerging from the clearing and taking in the scene; his eyes fell on Sakura's hair and Sasuke's shirt, which was stretched and hanging a bit strangely, and his face seemed to bypass pink and was maroon.

"INO, FOR THE LOVE GOD, DON'T-Oh." Shikamaru said, charging into the clearing and stopping abruptly at both strange sights; Sakura and Sasuke's appearance and Tenten and Ino. Naruto didn't slow down and ran into Shikamaru.

"I'm...so sorry...I'm just so...t-t-tired and...I can't...c-c-can't," Tenten burst out, struggling not to sob as she let the weapons fall from her shaking fingers; it was unusual, even rare for this stable brunette to lose her cool this way.

"It's okay," Sakura said, leaving Sasuke's side; Sasuke did not notice, as Lee had fixed him with a very disconcerting, blood lusting glare."Here, is your tent set up? No? Let's finish and you can go straight to bed, okay?"

"I'm fine," Tenten replied roughly, but let Sakura guide her toward the tent pieces that had lain forgotten.

"I'm...sorry..." Ino said feebly, but it didn't matter. No one would have any hard feelings in the morning. Except maybe Lee, who was still staring at Sasuke as though he'd love nothing more than to kill him, right then and there. But Sasuke ignored him and busied himself with making a fire, which was roaring in seconds.

Tents were put up from equal distance all around the campfire, and slowly they began making their way to bed. Dinner was skipped, much to Naruto's dismay, but eventually the only ones who were outside their tents was Team 7 and Lee.

Lee opened his mouth to say something, but Naruto cut him off by asking, "Hey, Sasuke, I need to talk to you."

Lee shut his mouth and Sakura bade him goodnight as he walked toward his tent, but he did not reply.

"I'll just...go to bed then, Sakura said quietly, unconsciously rubbing her shoulder.

"Hn," Sasuke replied, in response to Sakura's statement, and then began to walk in recognition and Naruto followed after him.

"So...what did you and Sakura do?" Naruto asked so matter-of-factly that Sasuke stiffened.

"Why do you think that?" the dark-haired man replied, hands in pockets and head lowered. Now he could remember...no, he couldn't...it was just a jumble of unfamiliar emotions...heavy breathing and soft skin, jealousy and fury and lust...an indescribable desire to touch her and make her make the noises again...the moans and the giggles...

"Please, Sasuke, your shirt was all screwed up, you were both flushed, Sakura has marks on her shoulder and she came back with sex hair! Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well," Sasuke snorted amusingly.

"Well I'm not!" Naruto retorted angrily. "So tell me what you did."

"Jesus, you're like a girl, Naruto," Sasuke snapped, "Wanting all the nit-picky details."

"I'm your friend, Sasuke."

"But we're not girls," Sasuke said flatly. "And I don't like her anyway, what we did was purely...erm...mutual."

"But...Sasuke that doesn't make any sense."

"**Exactly!**" he snapped, speeding up and letting Naruto run along behind.

Sakura could hear them speaking for a couple minute as their voices receded in the distance...she spent minutes waiting up, she didn't want them out alone, but eventually she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Dance around the fire tonight**

**My pretty, my pretty**

**Twirl and stomp your feet **

**To the rhythm that we play**

**Swirl your orange flaming skirts**

**My pretty, my pretty**

**No one can save you now my dear**

**You won't see another day**

_Ugh...why are they chanting? Is it like...a radio? Why aren't they asleep? Everything is dark anyway..._

_I can't even open my eyes, I'm so tired...wow...the fire smells amazing, but that means someone's still awake...shouldn't they put it out? Nah...they're smart enough to figure that out on their own._

**Burn her skin to ashes now**

**My pretty, my pretty**

**Your knight in shining armor **

**Will never come, is not here.**

_Truth be told...that is a strange smell...god, it's so hot in here...too many blankets, is all. But no...I'm burning up, and it's so hard to breath..._

**Suffocate her last breath now**

**My pretty, my pretty**

**Ignore the pain you're in right now**

**The purposeful fire you should fear**

_I opened my eyes and it was indescribable...swirling torrents of colors surrounded me; I kicked and met nothing but flaming material, touched nothing but pure flames licking my skin and ripping it layer by layer, so hot, so suffocating...panicking, I had to scream, and the voice that issued from my mouth was not mine. _

_Choking...sputtering...but the smoke was enough, and I let myself fall into a dark abyss that I longed for instead of this unnameable suffering...anything was better than this. _

_The voices from far away can't save me now..._

_And before I slipped away, I swear I heard...or maybe I was imagining...that someone was screaming my name...but I can't call back...scream for me...please._

**

* * *

**


	7. Death Sentence

First off, let me thank the reviewers that have taken so much precious time to read my story so far (i know, it's SO long):

**Rainingblood666; darkbastet596; Sodeno Shiroyuki; Rusti Cherries; Caiti; Jennjennr; Poison's Ivy; flowerangel050; Heavely Bow; and cha cha dancer. **

_You don't know how grateful I am! 22 reviews! That makes me pretty happy. Course, there are a few users that I know read but don't review (and I DO know who you are) but I hope that you'll find the time to leave a comment sometime. You don't have to write a sermon, just tell me what you liked or didn't like. _

**

* * *

****Chapter 7: Death Sentence**

"Okay, let's not panic, anybody, whatever you do, _don't panic_!-" She attempts to calm; she is far from it.

"**GET ME SOME FUCKING WATER**!" So harshly, he barks orders.

"Get that rope off her! It's around her neck-" Countering, also barking orders; they don't expect it from her, but they _are_ best friends.

_It hurts...so bad...for the love of god quit...fucking...screaming..._

Panic. Nothing but panic.

"**Where is that fucking water?**_"_

_I'm choking...can't you hear me telling you that I'm choking? And burning...oh, I'm burning! And my skin...crawling and peeling...make it stop...please...make it stop, somebody...so dark...I want light, I want something light...so warm and suffocating..._

"**For the last fucking time, get–me–some–**"

**SPLASH!**

"Did I tell you to throw the goddamn water _all over her_?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Sasuke, okay!"

_Shut up.._._there's flames...all over me and I'm burning and I want it to stop please...please make it stop..._

"Shuh...uh..." Sakura groaned, eyes closed and spitting water out of her mouth; she inhaled sharply and started to choke, but she had to speak, she had to let them know...she was burning, the flames were all over her.

"She's talking!" Ino shrieked loudly, and Sakura felt a hand grab hers. "Say something! Anything!"

"...Stop...yelling..." Sakura choked out, voice belonging to a smoker's; she writhed and twisted against the voices and the cold breeze was freezing her...but it wasn't freezing...it stung and burned, and she was still on fire and she knew it.

"Open your eyes, Sakura!" Naruto pleaded, the panic in his voice so obvious; there were quiet, shaking sobs that Sakura knew were coming from poor Hinata...Ino was breathing heavily, squeaking every so often, Shikamaru was muttering concernedly, Tenten was talking in a low voice to someone...trying to keep them calm.

And her eyes snapped open.

"**Get them off! Get them off get them off get the flames o-off!"**

_Is that me screaming?_ Sakura asked herself; she heard her high-pitched, frantic screams like a child piercing the clearing and echoing in her own ears...she was disconnected, and she had been split like she hadn't felt for so long...not since before her battle in the preliminaries with Ino when she was a mere child of 12...Inner Sakura was raging, yet clear-headed, but the rest of her was panicking and writhing and twisting.

Dazzling white light blinded Sakura as she swung her fists, twisted and writhed, shaking and struggling to sit up; the frightening light and the gazes of so many other people were pressing on her vision and causing her eyes to roll back into her head; she turned her head and began to cry, chest heaving up and down in rapid succession. Someone's strong yet gentle hands held her shoulders to the ground, but she fought, trying to sit up and get away from those flames that were in her mind but not in reality, they were not visible to anyone else...the flames licking at her flesh and turning her long locks to ashes and wrapping her in a suffocating cocoon of suffering...

"Sakura...stop..." said a small, sad, wavering voice that she recognized but never expected to hear from him. It was Sasuke.

"Sasuke...make the flames go away...they're hurting me...they _huuurt,_" she whimpered, digging her nails into the dirt and letting the dry substance flow between her fingers; she still felt so hot, like she was suffocating, someone pulling a sack around her head or squeezing her little lungs like an accordion.

"You're going to be okay...I promise..." he tried to say; most of it was stuck in his throat. She didn't even want to open her eyes and see the pain he was trying to hide on his handsome face.

"Get them off me!" she screamed, still burning...the heat radiating from her skin and everyone's hands to her felt so scorching...so warm...slowly, she let her eyes open and fought for a moment to keep them that way as she blinked away dust and salty tears. There he was, holding her ever-stubborn shoulders down as she fought to get away, she wanted no one helping, nothing preventing her from fighting, even if she was fighting nothing. His expression haunted her; his eyes were so wide and round, as though he were a frightened child, resolutely black even in the reflection of the white beam from the flashlight, swallowing every few seconds as if to suppress a gag. Arms shaking as he held her fast, but yet so gentle, dark locks hanging down as if reaching toward her and lip resolutely white as sharp teeth cut into them; a single drop of blood fell from his lip and onto her face and she could see it resting on her cheek. Of all the things...his blood was cold.

She didn't care about keeping up her normal facade anymore; the sarcasm, the witty exchange, the stubbornness...this hurt too much...and all she wanted was his gentle touch, and maybe everything would go away. They said she wasn't burning, but she was. She felt it.

"Are they still there? The flames-"

"There's nothing there, Sakura...there's nothing there anymore."

"So _hooot_," she whimpered, sounding like a whining child; slowly she began to focus a bit better and 7 petrified faces stared at her; Ino's wide blue eyes were shimmering with tears and Naruto was stock-still, frozen with the flashlight in hand.

"Shock...she's probably still in shock," Ino stated quietly, having a basic background in the field of first aid.

"I'm not in shock," Sakura contradicted, her voice raspy, syllables held long and nasally as she struggled to put the pain into her words and not her actions. "I'm okay."

The exasperated looks exchanged with her teammates distressed her; just how bad did she look?

Another wave of pain swept over her body and she shivered and barely suppressed a whimper; twisting in pain and chill she struggled to sit up, only to have a rough hand shove her back down; Sasuke did not look at her but instead fixed his eyes on the pitch-blackness that was the unknown wood.

"What happened?" Sakura asked, straining pathetically at his strong arm that held her fast. Without warning she dug her fingernails into his skin and his head snapped around; she writhed again and he jerked his hand away as though he had put her in pain.

"No-o-ooo," she sobbed, tugging on his arm and letting her head fall back into the dirt and clenching her teeth in agony. "It just stings 'cause I'm healing."

"She sounds delirious," Naruto said, glancing at Lee, who had not spoken nor moved.

"No, she's right," Ino supplied, nodding.

"Mm," Sakura murmured, lip trembling. She took a breath, let it out, and continued; "Not to be...cocky but...I can heal my burns without a problem I...just need some sleep, is all. I'm resilient...I'll live. Things hurt worse when they're healing anyway..."

"Then you're going to sleep right now-"

"No, not until you tell me what happened," Sakura interjected, and Sasuke glared down at her, furious. _Stupid girl...can't she give up when she's already beaten? Trying to prove herself..._And the stubborn man fixed the equally stubborn woman with a frighteningly daring glare, silently barraging the other with hateful insults that no one else could hear.

"Naruto and I...came back from our walk," Sasuke began in a staccato tone, with the air of getting the worst over quickly; he swallowed.

"No one else was out of their tents, and me and him sat by the fire for awhile, just talking," Naruto took over, while Sasuke shot him a look of warning that clearly set the ground rules; their conversation was no one else's business. "Then we both went into our tents and went to sleep. But I put the fire out, I actually remembered-"

"And I checked it...just to make sure," Sasuke interrupted, and Sakura knew he'd never lie about that; not with his type of personality, not a speck of dirt would be out of place. There was a silence,and the atmosphere settled into a different feel as the clean-cut details sunk into the minds of the other ninja; eyebrows furrowed and breathing slowed as they held their air in their throats, fleeting thoughts bouncing off the insides of their skulls. There was no question that they were not lying.

The only person who did not subject to the moralistic change was Lee. He did not move.

"Then what–how did–?"

"Sakura," Sasuke breathed, gently taking her uncontrollably shaking head into his lap and cradling her like the infant she had been left as, crippled by the enemy and scarred in so many ways; she kept her expression (for the most part) blank, breathing falling into a comfortable steady rhythm in time with his. Rough and worn on the outside, internally gentle, he was there, and it was obvious to the group at large. Whether this would continue tomorrow...unanswerable.

"Sakura," he repeated, swallowing once again; he didn't need to speak aloud the answer of the unheard pact he promised her; he did not look at her but out to the darkness once again, but the feeling of his strong fingers tightening around a lock her hair was the answer, and only when that act had commenced did the stricken girl feel safe enough to close her eyes. So sickeningly sweet to all on the outside, closure for the inside, but-

"Wait."

The others were the fans on the sidelines, the bystanders that didn't know the story, although in this case it was almost too well known. Naruto shone the light at the only person keeping quiet throughout; Lee's expression was haughty and accusatoryand he was erect and towering tall, ready to take anything the avenger had to throw. He clenched a fist, and Sakura felt Sasuke internally stiffen, ready.

"You haven't explained everything, Uchiha," he began in a flat voice with only the tiniest hint of accusation; no matter how small, it was still noticed. Predictably, Sasuke narrowed his eyes and retorted.

"Meaning?" he replied, his voice even...for now.

"Meaning," Lee began, his voice dangerously low and frightening for him, "That who is to say this was an act of an enemy?"

There was a fraction of a pause in which the ludicrousness of his words ballooned, before Ino broke the silence; she put a hand on Sakura's shoulder and faced Lee, seeming puzzled, as though not daring to believe the meaning behind those words. "So you're saying that..._one of us_? Lee, that's...insane, that's just crazy!"

"Is it?" Lee asked mildly. "Most ninja are not known for their peaceful nature, and this group in particular has some very _animalistic _tempers," he added, and for all the world he might as well have said Sasuke's name; Sasuke left Sakura in the arms of Ino before standing up, brushing himself off a bit.

"Well then you certainly can't out yourself, if we're talking about tempers," Sasuke said flatly, his head tilting slightly.

Lee's lip twitched. "Face it, Uchiha...we were all sleeping and had the attacker been intelligent enough to find a way to block out the noise, Sakura would be-"

"Attacker?" Sasuke interjected, stuffing his hands hastily into his pockets; the clenching and unclenching was a clear giveaway.

"Yes, _attacker_, this was attempted murder, Uchiha, not some-"

"Don't call me 'Uchiha' in that fucking tone. I don't take lip from little inexperienced drop-out ninja. Second, I'm not stupid and I understand that this was not just a little 'ooh, look someone got a little cut' sort of accident," he rattled off, red in the face; the group was frozen, and Sakura stared at him; it was the most he'd ever spoken for a very long time. "And thirdly, I know what you're trying to say, so grow some balls and say it to my face."

Hinata covered her mouth with her hand; Tenten's eyes grew wide in the flashlight that Naruto still held, now silent, Shikamaru stifled a chuckle and coughed, while Ino could only gaze, disbelievingly. It was the most Sasuke had spoken in a long time, and the fact that he had no sarcastic remark behind it; it was clean-cut, crude, and coarse and out in the open. Very unlike him.

"You're the only one of this group that has mastered the highest levels of fire techniques. You've learned them for years, and you were born with _natural talent_," Lee snapped, practically spitting out the words with contempt as though it were shameful.

"So you're saying that _I_ attacked Sakura?" Sasuke asked, face blazing unnaturally and Sakura jerked, trying to sit up; Sasuke's hand was fidgeting in his pocket, his gaze bloodthirsty.

"If that's how you want to take it, then yes, I do. You don't like her, Sasuke, you can't deny that. You don't like anyone, do you? Not anyone that ever got in your way of the twisted life of revenge and pity you lead!" Lee goaded, taking a step forward. "And you do not deserve the pity that everyone, including Sakura, gives you-"

"I'd quit while I was ahead, if I were you," Sasuke warned, stepping forward to keep his pride and show that he'd take the challenge if need be. "You really think I'd do that to her?"

"If memory serves, it wouldn't be the first time," Lee said in a low hiss, and Sakura immediately tried to stand up; Ino tried to tug her back down, and their scuffle continued while Tenten took Lee by his upper arm.

"Lee, shut your goddamn mouth, stop trying to start a fight. There's no reason-"

"There is a reason," Lee retorted, jerking away from him; Hinata stood frozen behind the rest of them. "I'm sick of-"

"It's 'cause you're jealous," Sasuke supplied, the ghost of a smirk gracing his features; Lee stiffened. It was true. It worked both ways. Sasuke was just better at hiding it. Lee was red in the face now as he said-

"I am sick of you getting your way. You waltz back into Kohona being the high and mighty god that you think you are, gaining trust and forgiveness wherever you go, and now you think you can take back Sakura too, after all the years you treated her like nothing? That is not going to happen this time. You are a **selfish, cruel man** that does not know the meaning of pride and certainly does **not know how it feels to be in-**"

And the last word was drowned in a whirl of blood, a shattering scream, and snapping bones.

The raging fists had left his pockets, but no weapon was drawn; no, it was pure flesh and passionate hate and powerful clenched fingers that had shattered Lee's nose; Tenten yelled and turned her head instinctively as tiny droplets of blood splattered her face, catching her teammate as he staggered backward in surprise; Hinata screamed and Shikamaru turned his head away as not to be painted in crimson and ran back to help Tenten; Ino held Sakura back around the waist as the pink-haired girl struggled and fought, digging her nails into the ground. Naruto went for Sasuke and pinned his arms to his sides, the flashlight falling to the ground and going out; luckily the moon had framed the bloody battle ground perfectly, or they would have had to fight in the dark.

"SASUKE!" Sakura shrieked; Lee blinked blood out of his eyes and faced the powerful man, whose fingers were forming signs faster than they had ever seen; he elbowed Naruto back, away, and rose his handsome head toward the sky, onyx eyes flashing in the ominous red moonlight; pursing his lips, he brought his finger to his lips and lit it, like a candle. He grinned.

Ino barely concealed a curse as Sakura concentrated the little chakra she had left to use into her elbow and slammed it into her chest; Ino fell back and Sakura could not even lift herself off the ground; teeth gritted in pain, the medic crawled like a wounded kitten toward Sasuke, vainly tugging at him like a child tugging on the pant leg of an inattentive parent; he glanced down at her.

"Stop," she hissed, shaking.

"Don't move, Lee," Tenten warned, a curved blade catching the moonlight as she fingered it within it's sheath. "There's no more bloodshed tonight. We're not fighting amongst ourselves."

"She's right," Sakura whispered, leaning her head against Sasuke's leg. "That's what they want us to do."

"You don't understand, Sakura," Sasuke replied, letting out a slow breath and relishing the warmth his fire possessed.

"This isn't a fucking _discussion_!" she snapped, clawing at his leg in an attempt to drag her exhausted body off the ground; the healing chakra being used to heal her numerous burns was trying enough, now she had to babysit her teammates? "Stop, or I'll-"

"And what do _you_ plan to do, Sakura?" Sasuke snapped, his attention deterred from Lee, who was sprinting toward Sasuke, ready to strike; unfortunately, Sasuke's anger toward Sakura was preventing him from bracing himself. "Can't you just give up? Can't you see you're already beaten?"

"You think I'm that weak?" Sakura demanded, blinking away tears of pain as she forced herself to stand; swaying, she continued. "God, when are you going to learn that you're not the strongest out there?"

"I don't think that," he snapped, furious; he wrapped his pulsing fingers under her collar and dragged her close before he realized he'd put her in the path of Lee's attack; Tenten's eyes widened and Lee braced himself as his powerful kick was coming down on her shoulder; Sakura turned to meet it head-on, and her eyes widened too-

In the ringing silence-

"SAKURA!" Sasuke roared as a cloud of dust erupted from where the two ninja had clashed. The force threw him back... Moonlight was blocked, throwing the clearing into a state of darkness; Tenten drew her curved weapon swiftly and ran in; Naruto held back Sasuke, who was yelling and cursing so loudly and rough it was nearly incoherent; Hinata took a deep breath and stepped within the cloud to help as Ino rushed forward to help, past the struggling rivals...

"God forbid he hurt her," he muttered, still squinting within the cloud, trying to find a silhouette, blood, anything...anything to let him know. Squinting, breathing, waiting...

And then he saw blue.

His vision was blue...had he gone insane? No...it was simply a large web of chakra, spread in every direction and killing the grass beneath as it hissed against it...silhouettes appeared, resolutely black against the dust; one arm still around Sasuke, Naruto scooped the fallen flashlight from the ground and pointed it in that direction, and light caught it. It was Tenten's unused, unbloodied blade, raised high but there was no reason for it to come down; other figures emerged...Hinata and Ino, who each stood in defensive positions...lowering their arms, they gasped at the fallen figure of Lee, who was flat on his back, now slowly raising himself on shaking arms to look at Sakura; Sasuke followed his gaze and finally, the dust cleared.

Miraculously, she was standing, arms crossed and raised in typical defensive position to block oncoming blows, knees turned and bent nearly to the ground; the frighteningly bright, blue chakra rivets that were raised against her clammy skin were pulsing, and began to fade; she jerked her head up to see everybody staring at her, and Sasuke realized what she'd done, how much energy she'd thrown out to keep herself..._him too_...safe, and the resulting clash had scattered it...blood speckled her face as if drops of water had been flicked at her...mixing with the perspiration they left crimson streaks down her pale face...

_God Sakura...how are you still standing? _

She let her arms fall and her head droop, her knees turned in out of exhaustion and she shook as she slid lower still; she raised her eyes to face Lee and whispered in a voice so quiet that it was the rustling of a breeze through trees, yet harsh as a biting chill...

"Like I said...I won't let him hurt you...to get me."

Sasuke and Lee locked gazes; Lee seemed apologetic, mouthing wordlessly for something to say, but there was no remorse in the violent Uchiha's eyes...the wind seemed to dissipate and silence graced the clearing, and there was no intrusion on his final words that night:

"I'll _kill_ you."

And Sakura crumpled.

* * *


	8. Take It Off Me

* * *

**Chapter 8: Take It Off Me**

"State your purpose?"

"Let me in, Anko, I'm not in the mood."

The purple-haired proctor tilted her head and stuck her tongue out at the aging ninja; Kakashi stared at her blankly with his one eye visible and let his weight rest on one hip; his eyes darted around, clearly impatient.

"What's wrong, Kakashi, stressed?" Anko asked seriously, peering at him from across the desk.

"Funny you should ask, you don't look like a happy camper yourself," he replied snidely, his tone uncharacteristically harsh. True, the wooden desk was not visible beneath a layer of multi-colored paperwork that was scattered about like flower petals, while here and there a pencil or stapler poked out from within. A shattered ink bottle lay in one corner, still dripping and not tended to, while a file cabinet lay tipped over (to be exact, completely upside-down) in the corner.

"So sue me, I'm not good with paperwork..." Anko snapped, although Kakashi hadn't spoken.

"You sure didn't mind handing it out though...remember the Second Exam?"

"With your students? The Forest of Death?" Anko asked, leaning on her elbow and roughly shoving some paperwork to the floor; it fluttered like autumn leaves through the air before settling on the wooden floor. "Naruto Uzumaki, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "Sasuke and Sakura too."

"Aah...yes...Uchiha," she said in a quiet voice, shoving another towering pile of paper to the floor. "I need Tsunade's little apprentice back to do all the hard shit," she added, huffing and closing her eyes.

"That's precisely what I'm here for...somewhat."

"Don't tell me it's another _murder_," Anko drawled, letting her chin slip out of her hands and flat onto the desk. She spoke into the wood, sounding muffled. "No offense, but I'm sick of filling out autopsy reports...it gets tedious to know yet another person I used to work with that got done in."

"Your grammar is appalling," Kakashi replied, and he turned on his heel and walked toward the door where a meeting was taking place just beyond the threshold.

"Hey...you can't go in there! They're-"

Kakashi ignored her and raised his gloved fist to the wood; he knocked three times, and after waiting barely 20 seconds, turned the knob and strode in uninvited; Anko hopped over the desk and ran up to him, reaching for the door to prevent him from stepping in.

"Sir, I'm sorry, he-"

"That's alright, Anko...I know he doesn't ask." The Third Hakoge motioned for him to enter; Anko mouthed wordlessly at the wooden door that slammed shut in her face.

"Why didn't you let me know that Haruno had been murdered?" Kakashi spoke unflinchingly, harshly, nevertheless, there was ample emotion in his voice, for his former student that had always been the voice of reason. The poor girl had dealt with the trouble that Naruto and Sasuke had brought down on her, and now she would have her own personal guilt and revenge to deal with.

"You never really asked," the old man replied, taking a long drag on his pipe. "The fact remains, Kakashi, I have urgent business to attend to and I'm sorry for the loss, but-"

"I'm saying this for the good of her sanity and for the good of the mission that is supposed to go into effect at the end of the month," Kakashi interjected without fear, without respect. It was a mark of his anger, his impatience, his urgency that he did this. "She won't be able to go on that mission if she...finds out...this."

"You told me she hated her mother...that they hadn't spoken for years after the return of the Uchiha boy."

"It's still her mother!" Kakashi snapped, slamming a fist down on his desk; of all people, Hatake Kakashi was losing his cool, while the old, wise man sat, taking long drags on his pipe and remaining indifferent.

"This will be discussed at a later date, Kakashi...I'm leaving." Sure enough, the old man rose from his desk and slowly made his way past the jounin and to the door.

"To go where?" Kakashi inquired rudely, before he'd realized what he'd said.

His leader turned his slow look upon him and he sighed.

"Be careful," Kakashi warned, suddenly apprehensive about him leaving. There was something strange about this situation altogether.

"Never you mind," The Hakoge rasped, waving a careless hand behind him, walking out the door past Anko, who stuck her head around the door after he left; Kakashi shrugged to indicate he didn't know the Hokage's destination. She grinned.

"Bring me coffee!"

* * *

Good morning, sunshine. 

While sheltered, the compound was slowly becoming light again; although dawn had broken beautifully already in Kohona, now this place of destruction, in all it's exquisite yet dangerous attractiveness, received it too.

Throughout the foliage it burst in full force, casting a foggy light over the clearing in which the ninja still slept, not necessarily soundly; saying that would be a lie. Now 7 tents were spaced around the clearing and campfire, made unequal by the one that was missing; currently it was balled into a small bundle and carelessly tossed next to the long-burnt out fire pit.

Yes, now only 7 tents remained, but still 8 young adults resided within them...somewhere.

After a few minutes the sun gained confidence and shone brighter, lighting up the morbid remembrance that lay scattered on the ground, the crimson drips and streaks and puddles of what had occurred last night. So much violence brewing among them that they could not prevent, what with being forced into each other's company, and it seemed the terrible vicious circumstances were falling into place.

Although the tents were made to withstand a fair amount of inclement weather, the sun was still able to penetrate the canvas folds, and so it did, shining on the pale, troubled face of Sakura. She pressed her eyelids together as tightly as possible and moaned while turning over from her back, burying her face into something unknown, but delightfully warm and fleshy. Puzzled within her conscious limbo, she ran her fingers over it, smiling at whatever she felt. _Ah...those burns aren't completely gone..._she thought as she felt the chilly air outside of her cocoon pierce the not completely healed flesh on her bare arms. She sure hoped her face didn't look that way, too. But what _was_ this thing keeping her so warm and protected?

Moaning again in annoyance because she knew she would not get back to sleep, she opened her eyes and blinked many times, using a tender palm to clear the crust from her eyes _(ugh, I hate that!)_, and focused. It was just Sasuke...good. She closed her eyes again and pressed her face into his chest again.

"FUCK!" she yelled, jerking away and refocusing her tired gaze once again; yes, it was him, simply lying there sleeping like normal people did, but it was so strange to see and she swallowed, shielding her eyes from the sun and kneeling back on her arms. Just her teammate, lying on his side, a tiny weapon in his hand and his shirt off, bunched up to serve as a pillow under his pretty head. With every breath he took in and out, one tiny lock of hair came with it, in and out, quietly. It was so wrong, though...he usually didn't even want to _touch_ her, let alone take the liberty or effort of _sleeping_... _next_ to her...

_Well let's not tone it down...technically you slept _with_ him! _Inner Sakura contradicted, squealing with ownership and joy. _And such a beautiful human being you chose to sleep with, Sakura._

"Oh, hush," she muttered to herself, but not tearing her eyes away from his peacefully resting body just yet. He _was_ normal then, he slept like everyone else. _I'm surprised I didn't wake up to find him staring at me like some insomniac. _

In spite of herself, Sakura giggled, watching that one little lock of hair dance from his calm breaths, his finger toying with the sharp edge of the shuriken he held in his hand, to protect her with; he groaned and rolled over onto his back, his hand that held the weapon trailing on his bare stomach as he put a knee up and shook his head slightly. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Damn light..."

Sakura crawled across the tent as quiet as a mouse and unzipped the door; she stuck her head out and immediately brought it back in. It was freezing...the sun wasn't completely up yet, and she didn't want everyone to gawk at her injuries that she was sure she had sustained. She furrowed her pink brows in thought, then smirked and giggled, turning around to look at Sasuke, who let his knee fall back onto the blanket and groaned again, turning his face to the side so the sun wouldn't bother him.

As carefully as she dared, she lifted his head gently and pulled his balled up shirt out from under his head, and replaced it with her pillow. Letting his head sink into the pillow, he rolled over onto his side and let out a quiet sigh of content. She smiled at him; he spent so much time trying to be so pretentious and tough, when inside he was just a normal, 18 year old boy (or as normal as any boy could be) that just had some issues. Well, it was understandable, the life he'd had. He looked so adorably vulnerable, laying there being brave with his weapon still in his hand like the bloodthirsty, overprotective ninja he was.

She slipped his long shirt over her head and giggled again, feeling like a little girl as she let the sleeves fall far past her hands and hugged herself; it was warm and smelled just like him; she mentally scolded herself and reminded to tell her conscious that there was no giggling later when he stormed out the tent, livid, wanting it back. She'd be careful and cool then. But for now, he'd never know while he slumbered peacefully in his tortured dreams of revenge and blood, and she was going to make breakfast, because she was sure Naruto would have her head if she did not.

She paused, looked at him one last time, and slowly, quietly, exited the tent.

The sight outside was not terribly pretty; yes, the dew did decorate everything with a sensual touch and the sun shone beautifully over the not-so beautiful scene that the clash last night had left. But blood still spattered the ground and the flashlight was lying near the fire pit, off or broken; frowning, she sat on a log that had served as a chair near where fires were supposed to be and tenderly fingered the remains that had been her tent, a place that she thought had been safe.

_Ha. Safe. Trapped in a burning, scorching cocoon of death...safe. _

_Sasuke though...he kept me safe. And I've always tried to keep him safe. _

With one last glance of passionate hate, she gathered the pile of singed material and threw it on top of the logs in the pit, then rose and walked off toward the river in her favorite tight green pants and Sasuke's cozy shirt.

She removed the shirt, only to wash her face and hands in the crystal clear water; she watched herself, and realized with a jolt that her face bore no marks from the night before. Disbelievingly, running her fingers gently over her face...there were no burns anymore. Did her chakra work that well? Maybe she had underestimated herself. And so had Sasuke. She smiled in spite of the fact she moved a bit stiffly...that was expected, and she cupped water in her hands and threw it above her head, letting them fall back down and rain her with cold drops. Almost like a shower.

Face dry, she studied the back of his shirt...she ran her fingers over the sewn emblem of the wonderful clan of Uchiha. She couldn't stop smiling today, no way, and she put it back on, and brushed her long pink hair until it was left shining and soft. Turning, she looked over her shoulder into the water and surveyed her reflection and the paper fan emblem that adorned the dark pigmented shirt. A small part of her mind, hidden deep within all the things she'd never let come out of her mouth or let anyone know, she half-wished she could carry that name with pride. And she _so_ would. He wanted his name avenged and his family built...she wished she could help with that.

Brushing off her knees she stood, glancing once more at her reflection; although the sleeves were long, she never realized how tightly the shirt followed her hourglass figure...the one she never really cared to notice. Her job was paperwork and minor injuries, not trying to look sexy in a medical outfit.

She strolled back to the clearing slowly, vaguely wondering if anyone else was awake...sure enough, as she reached the circular powwow of tents, Ino yawned widely and dragged her tall frame out of the tent. Sakura grabbed the handle of her canvas bag that held the cooking utensils and sat on a log, rummaging for this and that and Ino flopped on the ground beside her, hair on end; Ino blearily gazed at her and abruptly threw her arms around her childhood friend.

"Good morning?" Sakura asked, setting her chin on top of her friend's head, who pulled away and instead leaned on her shoulder.

"S'early," she mumbled, closing her eyes. "Yokay?"

"Pretty much...a bit stiff...a bit sore...but okay."

"But...what happen' las' night...that fightin' n' all...bad stuff," Ino mumbled incoherently, yawning again. Sakura knew she meant well, and was grateful they were friends again, but frowned as she caught a distinct whiff of liquor.

"INO!" Sakura snapped, putting a bucket in front of her blonde friend. "Vomit that vile crap out of your stomach right now. You're going to have breakfast and you're _not_ going to have a hangover."

"I couldn't get to sleeeep," Ino whined, but complied and did as she was told. "I mean...I did have to sit and watch your skin burn off!" Shikamaru also came stumbling out of the tent, but not hung over by any means.

"Damn, girl, I told you not to have anything," he scolded his girlfriend, and patted her on the back. He gave Sakura a significant look. "You okay?"

"Fine...burns healed very well, actually, and-"

"You know what I mean," he interjected, jerking his head toward the tent where Sasuke still slept.

"Yes, _fine_," she said, standing up and proceeding to start a fire with the already burnt canvas and brush.

"Get your boyfriend there to start a flame," Shikamaru said, jerking his thumb toward the tent again. Sakura did not reply and did not look at him, instead counted out eggs for an omelette. Shikamaru eyed her up and down and then added, "Speaking of 'boyfriend'..."

"Haha, right, Mr. Emotionless? Doubt that...I just stole it," Sakura replied lightly, adding a bit of this and that into the mixture.

"It actually fits well..."

Sakura smiled at Shikamaru, who raised an eyebrow. "Be sure to tell him that, then," she said.

"Hey Saku-WHOA," Naruto said, staring at Sakura's outfit immediately.

"WHOA, Naruto," she mimicked, as he grinned at the sight of the Uchiha emblem splayed across her back. "Like I just said, I just took it. Wasn't properly given to me. 'Course if I wanted it that bad, I'd just take it."

"You sure _sound_ like his girlfriend," Naruto said, and shared a grin with Shikamaru.

"Nah...he'd want to order a girl around all the time...that's not for me."

"Good morning," Tenten greeted, emerging from her tent already dressed and smiling. "You feeling better, Sakura?"

"Yeah...I'd better put up a bulletin, 'cause I'm already sick of being asked."

"You're fine," Tenten laughed, and sniffed the air. "Smells delicious."

"Score, Sakura's cooking! Let me tell ya, she can cook," Naruto bragged, which made Sakura blush slightly and hang her head. Tenten smirked at the sight, then, like everyone else, widened her eyes at the sight of the shirt she was wearing, but her good-natured smile was soon back on her face. It was actually pretty amusing. Hinata quietly emerged from her tent as well and sat on a log, unnoticed.

A rustling...then two...echoed from opposite sides of the clearing. First Lee's head emerged, tousle-haired from between the flaps, then the heads turned and Sasuke's did the same, eyes only slits against the sunlight and not a hair out of place. Their gazes locked on each other dangerously-

"Come eat," Sakura said cheerfully, trying to avoid any argument she could. Besides, something else would distract Sasuke very soon, and she stifled a giggle as she heard him grumble, rummage within the tent, and emerge with a red dress draped over his arm, a haughty scowl on his handsome features.

The rest began to eat, Lee refusing to look at anyone, even Sasuke, and the latter sat roughly on a nearby log and turned the red dress over in his fingers, slowly realizing where his shirt had gone; his eyes widened in surprise and he was actually shaking in anger.

_How dare that bitch steal my shirt and prance around in it...like she deserves to carry that emblem on her back?_

_But have you noticed how well it fits her, Sasuke?_

_...Shut...up._

_Answer the question, does it or does it not fit her beautifully, hugging every possible curve the beautiful young woman has?_

_...yes..._

_Precisely why you should let her wear it. She's done so much for you...what is wearing a shirt going to do?_

_Let her win. _

"Here," Sakura said, handing Sasuke a plate and a fork as though everything were completely normal; he saw that devilish little smirk on her face as she turned away and he contented himself with shoveling food into his mouth, watching her walk away, letting her hips sway just a bit more than she normally would; he coughed.

She handed Lee a place with food and walked away; he, too, watched her backside as she walked away; Sasuke coughed again, this time loudly and unnecessarily, and Lee knew it was directed at him; Lee smirked in reply and angered the possessive man by deliberately staring at her as she walked around, food in hand and making sure everyone had enough. Sasuke twisted the metal fork within his hands that were itching to wrap themselves around Lee's throat; only Tenten seemed to notice that his fork was becoming nothing more than a small hunk of metal.

Abruptly, the crimson blazing color of Sharingan flashed in his onyx eyes, but when Sakura gave Sasuke a dirty look because he was ignoring his food, he calmed himself enough to ruthlessly shove egg into his mouth and chew it obnoxiously to get rid of the ugly look on her face. Only then, it seemed, did Lee notice what Sakura was wearing; he swallowed with a grimace and his narrowed eyes followed her figure as she walked around again, the excuse being that she was stiff and she needed to stretch. The red dress was draped around Sasuke's neck like a towel and when he finished his plate, he set it on the ground and saw the bright red material out of the corner of his eye; it occurred to him that this usually touched her bare skin, and why that bothered him, he did not really know.

Either way, he cleared his throat and mentally scolded himself for even _looking_ at the dress that taunted him in his peripheral vision.

"Um, Sakura, can I talk to you? Now?" Sasuke asked, stiffly and quietly as humanly possible; he heavily rose, and she put on an innocent look and nodded, following him into the tent.

As the flap was zipped, everyone in the clearing (except Lee, who was staring at the ground) burst out laughing.

"They're hilarious," Tenten told Ino, as Shikamaru chucked in an amused way and crossed his arms.

"I swear, if they ever got married," Naruto said, completely unaware of the way Lee stiffened, "they'd kill each other first. And anyone else in their 'happy home'."

* * *

Sasuke didn't speak, but gestured wordlessly at Sakura's attire; both sat with legs folded beneath them. She smirked and inquired, "What, does it make me look fat?" 

"No, it makes you look-" Sasuke noticeably bit his tongue to cover up his almost-compliment.

"I like it," Sakura said simply, hugging herself and struggling not to laugh.

"Stop...I want it back...I'll-"

"You'll what?" Sakura goaded, rolling her eyes and angering him further, "rip it off me?"

There was a long silence, and Sasuke rose himself up on his knees, looking down on her. "Care to test me, Sakura?"

She rose, literally, to the occasion, and even though he towered over her, she was mere inches away from his face. "Come get it."

**SLAM!**

She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her; flat on her back she landed, knees still bent out, which, while she was flexible, still was uncomfortable; he smirked and she threw herself at him with anything she possessed and caught him off guard; now he was on his back.

"You-"

"Me!" Sakura retorted, lowering herself on top of him, laughing in his face, breath smelling of onion and tomato and Sasuke smirked too, now repeating and slamming her to the floor again.

"Are we going to do this until one of us breaks our backs?" she whispered quietly, pressing the tip of her nose into his; his face was blazing as his intense eyes bore into hers, and he let himself be slammed backward, her powerful hips grinding against him and he groaned loudly, only half-realizing what was going on.

"Maybe," he said, low and rough and spoken into the soft folds of his shirt; he nudged his nose into her collarbone and she inhaled sharply, her hands running over the fine contours of his bare chest

_God damn! I'm on my back! By her!_

Another loud slam and it was Sakura's turn; she threw her head back and gasped again as he sunk his teeth into the collar of his own shirt that she still wore and pulled, like an animal, to stretch it out so he could better access her neck; the burns were on her back too, and they hurt a bit, but she knew what magic his touch could do; he locked his eyes on her as he went down for her neck, dragging his teeth down her skin. Across her collarbone sharp enamel dragged, searching for that one little spot that she'd-

Sakura let out a moan and Sasuke grinned, biting deeper into the skin; she was distracted, but he was losing focus too...the shirt wasn't really the issue now...he wanted to hear her scream and moan, and he wanted to make her bleed.

_Come on, girl...don't make him think you're easy._

This in mind she found new strength and pushed him, trying to slam him down again, but he resisted, leaving them locked evenly in a vertical match, both on their knees; she threw her arms around his neck and dragged him closer, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling; she complied, grinding her hips into him and he attacked her neck again, before he let on how much he was enjoying it... But she forced her hips against him once more and he stopped to let out a shuddering groan; he locked his lustful gaze on her and she smirked.

"Well well," she hissed, licking her lips, "He speaks."

"Shut up," he groaned, his eyes narrowed and flashing...that deadly crimson glare of the Sharingan.

"You don't scare me...trying to be all tough," she whispered, hot lips brushing his ear.

"You _should_ be scared," he retorted, his hands moving between their bodies...he wrapped his fingers around the edge of his shirt and added, "Take it off."

"No," she said, a flat out refusal.

"I said, TAKE IT OFF!" he yelled, a vicious growl sounding in his throat.

Outside the tent, conversations halted. Ino and Naruto glanced at each other and then fixed their gazes on the tent.

"How 'bout if I say please?" he asked, sounding strangely innocent. He smirked and went for her neck again, now that he knew where that one place was to make her cry, but she stopped him to do as he asked.

"If it means that much to you..." Sakura replied, face flushed; she crossed her arms in front and grasped the opposite ends and tugged it off, over her head, letting her pink locks fall slowly onto her shoulders. She held it up to him.

Sasuke laughed sadistically and grabbed her again, rough hands holding beneath them pearly, silky skin from her back. "I didn't say I wanted it _back_...I just said I wanted it _off_."

Before he could get her again, however, she slammed him on his back with her arms and laughed; getting a grip from the blanket, she slowly and seductively straddled him and dragged her lower body across him teasingly, letting herself rest when she had effectively made him moan with pleasure; he made a face and growled, digging his nails into her love handles and yanking his weight off the ground. Receiving a face full of Sakura's assets was his reward for being stubborn, and his muscles tensed considerably as he turned the tables and threw himself onto her.

"Face it, Sakura," he spoke into her neck, searching for that one little spot again, "You're not strong enough to hold me down."

"That's what you-OH," she gasped; he'd found it again..._damn him!_

"You're not impenetrable yourself, Uchiha," she hissed, trying to quell her voice...she wanted so badly to scream.

"Come on, Sakura," he said in such a low, husky voice that she'd never heard from him...that alone sent shivers down her spine. "Yell."

She groaned in reply, still quietly, and incoherent cursing tumbled off her lips and into his dark locks as he still nipped at her neck. "Fuck no."

"Do it," he demanded in that same husky voice, eyes now closed as he let his lips guide him across her collarbone...just a little higher...

_Damn it girl, don't give in...you are not this easy._

Slowly she untangled her legs from his and wrapped them around him, thighs tensing against him as she pulled him into her, and he gritted his teeth; _Don't do it, Sasuke. Stay in control. _

Too late; he moaned loudly and barely caught her name in his throat. "Damn..." he moaned, almost a whine. She chuckled sadistically and he uttered another growl of envy. His eyes scanned her neck, searching..._Hell...no. Find that sweet spot and make her **scream.**_

* * *

"Sas-_UKE!_" 

The conversations outside the tent were interrupted again as a high-pitched, throaty scream came from the tent where Sakura and Sasuke had gone into earlier. Hinata's eyes widened in fear while Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto and Tenten all turned their heads in the direction of the tent, where strange noises still sounded.

Tentatively, Ino rose from her spot and put her ear to the flap; her expression went from puzzled to surprised...and then she smirked. "Heh."

"What are they doing?" Naruto asked, getting up quietly and joining Ino at the entrance, trying to listen. Hinata, Shikamaru, Tenten and Lee. Now they all crowded.

"Come on, scream again...you know you want to," was heard, husky and low and almost vicious.

"And I said–" Sakura's words were interrupted by her shuddering moan of ecstasy and Hinata backed away, wary.

"We shouldn't...we shouldn't," she warned, eyes wide as saucers. "It's not our business."

But Lee was in no mood to listen as he clawed at the zipper and ripped the flap open completely; it was only unluckiness that caused the couple inside to fall out, Sakura on the bottom, legs wrapped around her animalistic companion, who had just, again, found her 'sweet spot' on her neck and had been the reason for her scream. She clawed at the dark-haired man, her nails digging at his scalp as he bit her again, one last time and her head fell back, hair fanned out beneath her. Blinking away tears she opened her eyes to see everyone staring down at her. Sasuke felt her unnaturally stiffen beneath him and he frowned and looked up, flashing crimson eyes surprising the others. Slowly, their breathing began to slow and Sakura stared up at Lee, who was expressionless, simply staring down at her.

"Jeez," Naruto muttered as he stared at Sakura's neck; it was bleeding quite a bit, along with tiny bruises and nips when Sasuke's aim had not been perfect.

Barely able to breath, Sasuke grabbed her shoulders, sat her up and dragged her back within the confines of the tent...and they muttered sarcastically out of shame and embarrassment:

"Oh fuck me now."

* * *

Haha. 


	9. Then And Now

****

Omigod, guess what?

_This is full of plotholes._

Oh well.

Thanks: Rusti Cherries, Sodeno Shiroyuki, Names Are Hard, flowerangel050, rainingblood666

* * *

**Chapter 9: Then And Now**

_You should be here now-_

_Holding me close now-_

_Whispering soft now-_

_But no...you're dead now._

Ignoring the murmurs and Lee's yells from outside, Sasuke put two fingers to his temple and closed his eyes. "What...the _fuck_...was that?"

Sakura opened her mouth disbelievingly, utterly flabbergasted. "You _bit_ me."

"No fucking way! And there was _me_ thinking you had a romp with a vampire in some bushes!" Sasuke replied, eyes still closed and fingers to his temples under stress and embarrassment...his shoulder gave a painful throb and he pounded his fist down; it sunk into the sleeping bag. _Breathe,_ he told himself, placing his hands behind his head and letting himself sink into comforting silence. Sakura rubbed her neck and grimaced at the touch; pulling her fingers away, streaks of blood painted pictures on her flesh, the painful way in which she had been claimed.

"You can stop covering it up," Sasuke snapped, still in his meditative position and biting his lip. "You didn't care about 10 seconds ago when you were screaming my name _in front of everyone-"_

"You can't say you weren't sayin' mine, either, jackass," she retorted angrily, crawling on her knees toward him and punching him in the shoulder in a less than playful way. He opened one eye, hands still behind his head, and found himself staring into a blazing face, jade eyes flashing with frightening intensity and her breathing slightly labored. The utter thought...he'd done that to her, made her scream like that, but she'd done it just as well. It was weakness.

_She's gorgeous when she's so riled up-_

_Shut up. Shut up now. _

_Heh. What do you know...the girl likes to play dirty-_

_Didn't I tell you...ME to shut your mouth? _

_Mouth's not moving...how can I shut it?_

"Move," he grunted, strong-arming her out of the way, shoving her to the floor; the blankets sunk beneath her.

"You're not...mad at me?" she asked, sounding incredulous; she stared at his retreating back, so furious there were tears brimming in her eyes.

He did not answer, and vanished out the flap, the back of his neck red. No, she was not 12 anymore, she would not cry. She put on a determined face and followed.

"UCHIHA!" she screamed, bursting out of the tent in a fury; the others stopped talking and stared as Sasuke stalked off toward the trees, haughty, and Sakura followed. "What's your problem?"

"_You're_ my problem!" he retorted in a childish manner, still walking. He would have kept going had a frying pan not collided, sounding a ringing echo, with the back of his head. Swearing, he turned to see the pink-haired, fiery kunoichi following close behind with another pan in her hand; instinct helped him duck before she took his head off with the next one and he felt how close it passed.

"That hurt, you stubborn-"

"Yeah, stubborn, _just like you_!"

"SHUT _UP_!" he roared, drowning out her words and speeding up a bit.

"Where are you _going_?" she yelled after him, furious.

"To take a freakin' shower, why, woman?" he replied, turning around about 10 feet away to glare at her.

There was a silence in which she grabbed her bag off the ground and dug through it. Naruto opened his mouth and began, "Erm, Sakura-"

"Here's your stupid towels!" she snapped, throwing them onto the dusty ground and finishing with a rude hand gesture.

"I don't _want_ your stupid towels," he yelled back, just for the sake of being contradictory and stubborn as he returned her gesture and stomped off.

"Yeah, well," Sakura started, struggling to find a witty retort. "Go...then...jerk..." she finished lamely and turned her back, pressing her hands behind her head in a reminiscent way and closing her eyes, throwing her head back and yelling just to yell.Stomping around, she kicked things unnecessarily and walked toward a nearby tree; Lee watched her as she continued walking up in one fluid motion, balance perfectly controlled as she stomped up the trunk, onto an extremely high branch and sat. The others whistled and busied themselves with other assorted tasks as if nothing had just happened, but Lee walked up to the tree trunk and looked up to find Sakura leaning against it far above his head, staring through the dense foliage with a single, solitary tear running down her face.

"...Sakura?..."

She sniffled and looked down, plastering a smile on her face. "I'm fine."

Lee didn't reply, but used his practiced taijutsu skills to carry him to the branch she sat on, hugging her knees and literally shaking from holding in her unshed tears. He was quiet, and he sat picking at a piece of bark for a minute or two before raising his eyes to her face.

"He's so stupid!" She burst out, breaking the silence and holding her head. "He's so goddamn stubborn and rude and aggressive and-I just-UGH!"

Lee didn't choose to say that she shared many of these qualities too. Instead, he nodded in acknowledgment and she added, "And the worst part is...I don't even understand _why_ I do what I do. _Why _he's angry, why _I'm_ angry."

Lee successfully bit back what he wanted to say; his mind, his morals were effectively split, to say the least. She was in love with Sasuke, there was no mistake; neither wanted to admit it; and everyone could accept this except them...and of course, Lee.

_I'd kill myself before I let this wonderful girl be unhappy. I see her cry, I want to hold her and never let her go and be the one to keep anything immoral or wrong away from her. She's been nothing but kind to everybody, she deserves it. But how many years has she wanted him, and how long did we last? A year and a half compared to...her entire childhood and almost all of the teenage years when you can still call yourself young? I want her happy...but I want to be the one to make her happy, not him._

_Besides, he hurt her...and I just can't let her...hurt herself over this. _

_I just...can't..._

"Sakura?" Lee said quietly, barely heard over her shuddering breath and sniffles. She looked up at him, jade eyes brilliantly vibrant against the painted bloodshot background that had been whites. Lips parted slightly she swallowed, looking up at him pathetically, struggling not to remember it all...everything she had, and what she could still have...but instead she chose a deeper, more twisted path. To Sasuke.

"Please...stop crying..." he said, sounding as pathetic as she looked, and it was strange to hear such a small voice from a person who was far from that. "I cannot handle your tears." Gently, he swept a knuckle across her cheek and she hung her head, ashamed. She had not cried for 3 years, not like this.

And gently he pressed his lips to hers; she replied with a quiet squeak and let him kiss her tears away, although she had been far from actually sobbing. When she pulled away, she forced herself to quell the little part of her stirring fitfully, awaiting reconcile from long ago that she could not go back to, forced closure was all it was. How could something so wrong feel so right?

"Thank you," was all she could say. Perhaps he had expected her to say more; Lee nodded and swept one last tear off her face, but it was obvious she had not really let it all go yet. The fact that she was concealing, holding in, hurt him even more, but instead he replied, "Is there anything else I can do?"

A moment's pause.

"Yes...will you bring Ino to me?"

Not what he'd been expecting.

"Sure," he replied, and surveyed her one last time before sliding off the branch and landing so many feet below as easily as breathing.

Sakura leaned her head back against the trunk and took another deep breath...when she had been younger, crying was no big thing and she would let herself go at the drop of a dime. She was stronger now, or at least she had to make herself seem that way, and she bit down on her lip until she heard Ino walking up the trunk in similar fashion to sit with her.

The tall blonde walked on the side of the branch and then stood, looking down at her friend, then carefully lowered herself to it, swaying slightly, and sat indian-style, long legs crossed and blue eyes sharing her distress. Sakura stared at her, lip now bleeding and trembling and there was no way she would keep it in much longer...

Ino put out her arms and Sakura threw herself into them, taking a deep breath, and when she exhaled, there came tears.

"Oh Sakura," Ino said quietly, soothingly, "You certainly have a problem, don't you?" It was not meant to sound rude or superior, just stating an obvious issue that she was wholeheartedly admitting she had no idea how to fix. But was that not what best friends are for?

"I...I-I don't know...what t-to do!" Sakura wailed, holding tighter. "I can't think even think straight. I lost my head, completely, and I don't even know why I was doing that...all I wanted to do was...be with him...to touch him...god, I can't think...I'm so confused...how could he, after all this time...is there a possibility that he might...but he never acts like he cares and-!"

"Shh..." Ino replied simply, patting her head. "Just cry."

And two best friends hugged for minutes on end, needing the other for no other reason than to have a shoulder to lean on. Talking was later, letting it out needed time first.

* * *

"Hm. I'd say they're having problems." 

The small room was quiet in voice, alive and loud with silence. They glanced at one another, occasionally opening mouths but nothing issuing from them; blame was ready to be put on, but no one could accept it because there was no fault.

"They're supposed to keep this up for a _month_?" Yuhi asked the group at large from her spot in the corner of the couch; her piercing red eyes surveyed and focused on each man in turn that sat in a semi-circle; how she wished she could command more authority, for while younger than them and less experienced, sometimes she felt as though she were the only soft spot in the collection of high-level, emotionless jounin that now stared back at her blankly.

"That's...what they said," Gai said quietly, caterpillar eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.

"Who's they?" Yuhi demanded, so tempted to unleash her spleen on _somebody_, anybody who would care to talk to her or dared test her impatience. It was not usual for her...but this, it was too much.

"Don't yell at him," Tsunade told her, strolling in and folding her arms. "I was the one who requested...I don't know...probably most of them."

Yuhi's eyes grew a bit wider. "Even Hinata?"

"Hyuga?" Tsunade replied, taking a seat on the couch with the little room that was left on it; scowling, she shoved Gai over with a powerful arm and settled comfortably. "I don't believe so. Team 7, definitely, Rock Lee and Tenten, and I took two of Asuma's-"

"Who put Hinata in there? No one even _asked_ if she would be able to handle that!" the red-eyed jounin said loudly, eyes narrowed as she surveyed the group; Tsunade, Gai, Ebisu, a random rookie that looked at her quite a bit, Iruka, while not a jounin, was there for observation...there was someone missing...

Yuhi locked her piercing gaze on Gai, who raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Kakashi?" she said in a low, dangerous voice; no one answered, and Gai grinned.

"Knowing Kakashi-"

"Kakashi's right here," Kakashi said cheerfully, poking his head into the small room and grinning beneath his mask. "I daresay I'm glad to have been mentioned when I'm not around." He smiled his good-natured grin at Yuhi, who gave him a look that clearly told him he was in trouble.

"Well, Kakashi," Gai said easily, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. "Long time, no see."

"Been busy. Haven't even stopped home yet," Kakashi replied, still standing, blatantly ignoring Yuhi's deathly glares that she continued to barrage him with. Crossing her legs, she stared at him and it was becoming obvious to the group at large she had something important to say.

"There something you need, Yuhi?" Kakashi asked. "Your face is a bit red."

She didn't reply, but continued to glare.

"Ah," Kakashi intoned, and walked across the room to stand in front of a rookie Jounin that had been eyeing Kakashi apprehensively and Yuhi in a way...not so apprehensive. The rookie coughed and moved over, and the gray-haired man sighed in content and grinned to himself, taking the proffered seat.

"Now then," Kakashi began, but Yuhi cut across his easygoing excuse.

"You're late. You signed up Hinata for that contest without even consulting me, and then had the nerve to skip out of town as soon as you were done."

"For the record," Kakashi contradicted easily, "I had important business to attend to that just happened to be needed to be done the morning after I sent in the final draft for it."

Yuhi snorted disbelievingly and looked toward the door, for another presence was now hovering over the threshold.

"He never came back, Kakashi," Anko said roughly, as she always chose to spoke, fingers wrapped around the wooden frame, knuckles white. The others all turned to look, puzzled; Anko was not one to be this distressed over a simple matter like this, and Yuhi watched Kakashi's easy demeanor change slightly.

"Keep me posted," Kakashi replied simply, and Anko nodded grimly and continued down the hallway; her loud knocks were heard on a different door.

"What's going on?" Yuhi inquired, leaning forward to look at the gray-haired jounin's thoughtful expression; he did not answer and she rolled her eyes and decided to ignore him.

"How is it going?" Kakashi asked the group; he did not have to specify the 'it', and Gai rose to the occasion, almost eager as a woman to relay the gossip.

"Well, they made it to camp, they fought, typical teenage rebellion and jealousy, fighting, eating, fighting, and so on and so forth."

"Why am I not surprised you've been sitting in here watching them do all this like an old man goggling at girls in a bath house?" Kakashi replied, carelessly flicking a piece of lint from his knee and fixing his one eye on his friend. _Tell me more, Gai. _

"The Hyuga girl was dragged off," Gai continued, and Kakashi's warning look came a second too late as Yuhi blanched and clenched her fists.

"But she's fine, she's fine, of course, the rest of them didn't know that," Gai added, but the red-eyed, young jounin folded her arms and was now tearing Kakashi apart with her piercing gazes.

"Why don't you just skip to the 'who kissed who'?" Kakashi said jokingly, but occasionally glancing at the woman next to him; ironically, their gazes missed locking every time.

"Certainly. It gets better every time, like a soap opera." Gai pointed to the television that was currently paused. "This actually happened right after breakfast." In unison, every head swivelled to watch, waiting for it to play. Yuhi stood up and pointed at him, her face shocked.

"You mean to tell me that-"

"Shh!" Kakashi snapped, taking Yuhi's hand and pulling her out of the way and back down to the couch. "It's starting."

* * *

"SASUKE UCHIHA!" the blonde yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth so his obnoxious voice could better penetrate the foliage that hung over the river. No one replied, and Naruto continued to walk around, speaking at the top of his lungs, "Sasuke! I know you're here somewhere!" 

He was right; Sasuke was close by, but at this point in time he was underwater, and only tiny bubbles were revealing his presence. Fighting against the strong current provided mental distraction and something to tire him out, something to relieve the pent up energy that he had so unwisely exerted by losing his temper on his teammate. Amazingly, he felt guilty, but would never admit that to anyone, even her, and luckily the river water was freezing, perfect for a shower that he had so desperately needed.

He held his breath and dove farther down, wanting to touch the bottom for no other reason than, again, distraction and a thirst to prove to himself he could. He succeeded, smirked, and pushed off from the bottom and let his handsome head break the surface with a gasp as he swallowed a much needed gulp of air. It was then he heard his rival yelling for him. Annoyed, he shook his head to fix his hair and swam toward the shore, powerful muscles flexing in rhythmic time, and he heaved his weight onto his elbows and shoulders and yelled. "WHAT?"

Naruto emerged from some trees to the left, looked around and spied the dark-haired man, leaning on the bank.

"There you are!" Naruto said happily, sprinting toward his friend and taking a seat upon the grass as if invited; Sasuke pursed his lips in a womanish way and shook his head once again for no other reason than to show off.

"Self-absorbed much?" Naruto rolled his eyes and mimicked Sasuke, running his fingers through his blonde hair and tossing his head like a female in a shampoo commercial.

"Shut up...what do you want, anyway?" Sasuke snapped, waving an arm to make Naruto move; the blonde complied and Sasuke heaved himself out, putting only the weight necessary to get out on his knee, which was bothering him as it had been ever since his brawl with Lee. Leaning back on his arms, breathing a bit heavily, he glared at Naruto. "Well?"

"Sasuke," he began, his tone unusually serious. "Are...you okay?"

"Fine," Sasuke automatically, running a hand through his dark locks and sighing. "Never better."

"That's bullshit," Naruto replied forcefully, and Sasuke stared. "There's something wrong, and whether you want to say it or not, you're my friend, so stop being a jackass and tell me what went on so I can help you."

Sasuke was silent.

"I'm serious. Even if you don't want my help, Sakura is just as upset and I'm her friend too, so I have to talk to her too."

"Look, I'm not going to sit here and have a touchy-feely chitchat about my emotions, alright?" Sasuke snapped, putting his head in his hands. "That's for women."

"You're such a sexist," Naruto accused, sitting back on his arms too. "And besides, apparently you spend more time in the shower than a woman."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Sakura said that," Naruto justified, grinning widely.

"Just...don't even mention her to me..."

"Why? You can't say the reason you yelled at her was all because of the shirt thing," the blonde asked, peering at Sasuke, who still had his head down. "What were you feeling when you asked to talk to her, alone, in the tent?"

Sasuke raised his head to stare at his rival, disbelievingly. "Please tell me you're joking, Naruto. You sound like a psychiatrist."

"Yeah, well, I just found you vampire-biting one of my best friends, and I'd kind of like to know why, considering you hate touching people in general. You might need a shrink."

"I don't need a shrink!" Sasuke yelled, turning toward the river and putting his face on his knees.

"You're pouting..." Naruto said quietly.

"FUCK–YOU," Sasuke yelled, scooping up a decent sized rock and flinging it at Naruto's head without even looking; he didn't need sight to aim well, and Naruto sat up from the grass with a lump on his temple.

"Geez...anyway...seriously, why did you want to talk to her?"

"_Why?_ Because she stole my shirt and pranced around in it showing off on purpose, acting like she was-"

"She wasn't prancing...she was just walking."

"Please," Sasuke snorted, flinging another stone into the water. "And anyway, I wanted it back."

"Okay, that's a start. And then you took her into the tent and then-?"

"She refused," Sasuke said, still staring straight ahead.

"Okay," Naruto said, nodding as if that made complete sense. "So she said no and naturally, being the type of person you are, got angry."

"Why are you trying to sound smart?"

"Because I am," Naruto stated proudly, smiling. "Now, what did you do?"

Sasuke thought...how far was Naruto going to go with this? "I repeated myself, but the bitch refused, so I told her not to test me, and she was being stubborn and said no, and so...I don't know...I sort of slammed her to the ground and-"

"Okay, good," Naruto interrupted, nodding. Sasuke frowned.

"Don't interrupt...I was actually speaking."

"True," Naruto said. "Keep going."

"And I don't know...she was being so goddamned stubborn so I shoved her, and she shoved me back, and then we just sort of kept doing that..." Sasuke's voice got quieter and quieter as he progressed; he was slightly embarrassed by his actions because looking back, he didn't understand why he wanted to do what he did.

But he continued, hesitating before most of it, only speaking when Naruto gave him a look to keep him going, and amazingly enough, Sasuke said everything. When he'd finished, he had no desire to look at another living person, nor speak at all, and moments passed in silence when he had finally shut his mouth and he stared out over the water, mind buzzing with questions that he now had to deal with. He couldn't really believe he'd come out and said all those things about Sakura that, if it had been the other way around, would have made him pretty uncomfortable. Course, he didn't say _everything._ How in the world do you explain to her best friend that you actually didn't _mind_ biting her neck and feeling her up, and that she was the most annoying human being on the face of the earth but you could tolerate it anyway?

"Wow..."

Sasuke pressed the heels of his hands into his forehead, lifting the dark locks off it and closing his eyes. "Fuck."

And abruptly, Naruto burst out laughing; it was not just a few chuckles, no, Naruto was rolling on the grass, laughing obnoxiously and loudly, shaking his head in disbelief and Sasuke stared at him, wondering for a minute if his friend had gone completely insane.

After a minute, Naruto sat up and pointed at his friend, struggling not to laugh anymore. Jabbing his finger at the stoic man, who raised an eyebrow and still seemed worried for the blonde's sanity, he told him loudly, "The great Sasuke, object of every girls' heart ages 12 and up, is in_ love_! Ha!"

There was a long silence, and Sasuke abruptly flung an arm out; Naruto was shoved into the water.

"I hate you."

Sasuke stalked off, while Naruto stared after him, spitting out a mouthful of water and clearing his vision with a jerk of his head, amazed that this man was capable of feeling love, much less with the most annoying, obnoxious, stubborn girl that he fought with on average, every day. But it was only expected. And anyway, Sasuke should have felt damn lucky!

"You only hate me because I'm _right_!"

* * *

"Notice that most of _that_ came from _your_ students, Kakashi," Gai said pointedly; now only he, Kakashi, Yuhi, and Anko, who had returned from letting everybody know that the Third had not returned in a loud voice and ordering others around a bit, and now was settled on the couch, on the other end from Gai. Kakashi and Yuhi occupied the other; Kakashi was still grinning and Yuhi had been simply shocked...well...they _were_ 18, after all. 

"I'm glad I taught them something," Kakashi replied, chuckling slightly. "Then again, I expected Naruto to be the more...how do you say... 'romantic type'."

"That Uchiha boy is vicious," Anko commented, but she had a lopsided smile on her face as she said it; it made her laugh.

"I honestly didn't expect _that_ sort of behavior out of him," Kakashi admitted, rubbing his chin. "'Course, when he came back to the village, his relationship with everybody, especially Sakura, became...I'd say 'stronger' if it were the word, but it might not be."

"Stronger? Maybe...more like-"

"Testy," Gai piped up. "I find it funny, however, that Sakura is toying with Lee as well as her childhood crush." At this, he shot Kakashi an accusing look, while good-natured, goaded Kakashi to continue.

"Hey, I didn't teach her anything like that," Kakashi laughed, putting his hands out. "They're amusing to watch."

"They're living together now, right?" Gai asked conversationally, and Kakashi nodded.

The others nodded in agreement, and Yuhi still did not contribute to the conversation as she stared into the couch cushions, lost in thought; Kakashi watched her pick at them, intrigued. Something white had caught her eye; carefully, she reached within the space between the arm and the cushion and pulled out an empty cigarette pack. Now all eyes were on her as she turned it over in her fingers, holding it up to her face to make sure it was his, but there was no mistake. Anko opened her mouth slightly, but shut it just as quickly from the look on Kakashi's face.

Red eyes...staring into nothing, feeling and hearing nothing from around her as she gripped it tightly in her shaking fingers, jaw set as strongly as she could help, mouth a straight line that threatened not to stay. She was falling into a daydream that only caused her pain when she had to accept it was just that, it was not real. As a jounin, a ninja, she had never expected anything to emerge, to happen in the 'relationship', if you could call it that, simply talking and eating together once in a while, nothing more. But if she was allowed, if she could dream...there would have been more than what they'd received. If she could be a child with a little crush from long ago and it was okay and that person was still around...what could have been...

If only...

"Kurenai?" Kakashi said quietly; she ignored him and stood up, still clutching the cigarette pack in her hand. She walked out and the gray-haired jounin watched her go, frowning.

"I wanted one," Anko complained after the saddened jounin had crossed the threshold; Kakashi fixed his one eye on her for a second, but then rolled his eyes.

"You don't smoke."

"Neither does she, but I've always wanted to try," Anko replied, the grin of a Chesire cat on her face, her spiky purple hair ends seeming to curl, as did her smile.

"Insensitive much?" Kakashi replied, and rose heavily from the couch, his path expected; out the door he went, after her.

* * *

_**THWACK!**_

"_Not bad," the pupil-less boy replied, a bit pretentiously in the way of Sasuke; a standoffish similarity, but no, this boy was much different from him in so many ways. _

"_Not good," Tenten countered, studying where the weapon had landed more careful than most; after peering closer, she realized she was off by half an inch. Huffing, she ripped it from the bark, and while tiny pieces littered the grassy floor she placed her hands together, eyes closed, and aimed again._

"_Come, Tenten, that is enough," Neji said quietly, turning and beckoning her with a careless hand. She nodded no and ignored him, opening her eye barely a slit to aim one last time_,_ but she only stopped when he wrapped his fingers_ _around her wrist and tugged her away; she complied, sighed again, and slipped the weapon up her long sleeve she was forced to wear, for an autumn chill had viciously been thrust upon Kohona_.

_They walked through the trees, colored leaves swirling across the stone path that led them back into the heart of Kohona and the bar that was only a few minutes away; warm and overflowing with friends. _

"_Why are we heading back so early?" Tenten inquired, chocolate brown eyes surveying him up and down; Neji's collar was turned up against the wind over his neck and he huddled within the material, seeming annoyed at the weather. _

"_Because I'd like a drink before we go home and you make me train with you some more," he said, smiling slightly as he closed his eyes against the bitter wind. Tenten smiled too and giggled, shoving her numb fingers into her pockets. _

"_Well-l-l," she said slyly, pulling her hands back out and flexing her fingers; the feeling wasn't returning and it was annoying. "We don't have to tonight then," she said, as though it were a great honor. Neji took it as such. _

"_Where is Lee this evening?" Neji asked, although it was only a question to spark conversation, not because he did not know._

"_At this time...probably waiting for Sakura to get out of work," she said, laughing happily again and continuing to flex her frozen fingers. _

"_Why do you insist on spending so much time on what you already know?" Neji asked abruptly, quickly changing the subject. "You know you have the best aim out of anyone...why do you put yourself down and act like you do not?"_

"_I do not," Tenten said, frowning at him. "I just know I could be better."_

_Neji nodded in understanding, but continued. "You should work with that scythe you received," he said, his smile curling like the described blade. "I would help you."_

"_Of course you would," she replied, twirling around in a circle and trying to warm up her still stubborn hands. He noticed immediately, and she knew he would. He ceased_ _her happy dance when he grabbed her hand and felt it tenderly; she sort of wished she could feel his touch._

"_Ah, Tenten," he said, shaking his head with a curled smile still on his face. "Always pushing it. Luckily we're almost home or I'd have to say you'd be plagued with hypothermia."_

"_I'm fine," she chastised, but he kept her hand safe anyway, keeping it with equal distance between as they continued to walk, this time in silence...a very comfortable silence. In a rush of unusual affection, Tenten put her head on his shoulder, therefore admitting he was right when he'd said she'd pushed it, and he shook his head again, in spite of himself, and continued on._

_Predictably the bar was crowded and noisy; it was only early evening and many other ninja were warming up from the sudden early chill that usually did not come until later in the month. Sitting with Lee and Sakura, Kiba, Naruto, Hinata, Chouji, Shikamaru and Ino, with Shino brooding quietly in his corner. It was everybody...or as close to 'everybody' as they were going to get. _

_Laughter and talk, and now Tenten's hand was warm and blood flowed forth again, but there was a bit of awkwardness between them, and they sat quietly, listening to those around them and every now and then sipping their drinks. While the atmosphere was jolly to most, Neji drummed his fingers on the tabletop in a strange way, as though expecting something to go wrong, expecting something unusual._

_Tenten placed her fingers over his to stop the annoying tapping._

"_Are you okay?" she asked, peering at him, for his head was down and he was staring into the tabletop. He did not look at her._

"_NEJI HYUGA!" echoed a booming voice; the bar fell silent and Tenten grabbed his hand unnecessarily, staring at him. Across the room stood an unknown ANBU officer, a paper in his hand and a grim expression on his fairly young face. Just his look alone told the entire room that something was seriously wrong. He beckoned Neji forth and Neji stood, his face now devoid of emotion, as always happened when the missions were called like this; at night, the break of dawn; it was an emergency._

"_Sakura Haruno, you're wanted in surgery, priority 2, and Inoichi Yamanaka, you're on basic treatment call, priority 5. Everyone else, you're under lead of Hyuga, report to the Third and then move out!"_

_Silence blanketed the bar frighteningly. Reactions were fleeting, yet slow. The everyday people sat stricken, frozen, grabbing hands and abandoning drinks, others reacting by downing the drinks and putting up hands for more. The girl wiping down the counter continued to do so, biting her lip, and slowly the group of ninja in the back that had been laughing just seconds earlier was solemn. In just a couple sentences so much was said. A mission that was assigned so late at night was a sure sign of emergency, and with so many people they knew how it worked; they would start out together, and slowly but surely split, into two groups, which would split again until everyone was alone. It was dangerous. Sakura swung her messenger bag over her shoulder haphazardly and took Ino by the arm, pecking Lee on the cheek, and they rushed out, not having time to properly say goodbye to everyone else. Sakura would be performing difficult surgery for most of the night, Ino would be performing basic medical tasks on more than one injured ninja, from the sound of it. _

_Scuffling feet, heads looked up as the officer continued to name off people; other ninja abandoned their drinks, grabbed cloaks and pushed in chairs, gathering their things and rushing out. _

_Ino stopped at the doorway and rushed back, hugging Shikamaru and...fighting back tears. Even she could understand, even she knew these life-and-death situations that had been happening more and more these past few months...there was always that horrifying realization that there was a chance that they wouldn't come home alive. Normally he shrugged her away, muttering her name in an embarrassed way and blushing slightly. Now he could only hold her tightly, speaking her name in her ear, rubbing her back and loving her in a way that would break your heart, as if he really were marching to his death. And they might have well been._

_Sakura swallowed and mouthed 'I love you' to Lee from across the room. He replied in similar fashion, silently, his lips moving around the words in a smooth caress. Ino pulled herself away from Shikamaru and followed Sakura over the threshold, and they hurried into the unknown mistress of night, along with the other officers marching down the street, ready to do their duty._

_Neji beckoned the others along with a hand and they complied, following their leader out the door. Hinata was already frightened and she was the last one out the door, Naruto in front of her with a stony expression. The ninja behind her glanced down at her and sighed, and the common villagers, the ones that were the protected, watched them go with stricken faces and toiling eyes. _

_Down the dark street they went, Neji in the lead of his team, and Tenten glanced at him; as each street light was passed, the ghostly light beamed down on his expressionless face and he did not look left or right. _

_Little did she know that this was the last time they would go marching out together, marching out alive, and when the ninja came marching home, there would be no reason for cheers, and she would be alone._

"Tenten!" Sakura said, putting a hand on her shoulder and jerking the girl from her memory. Ino and Hinata looked down at her concernedly, but Tenten plastered a smile on her face and stood, brushing herself off.

"Sorry...must have just been a daydream," she lied airily, stretching, her chocolate brown eyes sparkling and her buns bobbing. "What's up? You okay, Sakura?"

"Not really," Sakurareplied, and you could believe it. Her face still bore streaks from where tears had dried, not to mention the state of her neck; now the bruises seemed to pop from her fair skin tone.

"Hey guys!" Shikamaru said, strolling lazily into the clearing and throwing a tightly furled scroll toward the group; Tenten caught it and looked at it.

"What's this?"

Shikamaru smirked cheekily and laughed in a laid-back way. "Mail call."

* * *

**I'm pathetic now**

**For thinking everything would work out**

**Our lives are twisted**

**You always resisted **

**And you're gone...now you're gone.**

The river. Complex and yet simple; it traveled far throughout the outskirts, the inner city and all around, through compounds and backyards and forests alike, but simple in it's own identity, being only water, nothing more. It swallowed tears, it claimed lives, it provided a sweet calm sound of serenity to those in tune with nature and was a mirror to those struggling to find themselves.

The latter applied to the red-eyed jounin, standing solemnly by the rail and still silent, still twisting that rectangular box in her fingers as if it were the only thing she had left. The only thing her heart had left.

**Inevitably**

**I knew it was never meant to be **

**But I hoped**

**I dreamed**

**Like a little girl so desperately wanting**

**Always there, unspoken**

**They all noticed**

**We denied.**

It was almost a joke among them...most did not consider love, marriage, actually ever settling down and raising children. But when it was just the two of them, alone, once in a blue moon the topic did come around to other things, _normal _things outside of jobs and stressful managing of students, which were fun to discuss. Whether in a bar or in a shop, in the small room that was the hangout for many of the higher-level jounin or anywhere they happened to run into each other, it was always there and never spoken. About what there was waiting for them when the time came when they were tired of commanding, tired of fighting. Who was there waiting when the time came to fall back, if and when they decided to.

_I was new. Young, naive, and stupid compared to the others, who knew the ropes and rules and expected these unfathomable things that they put these children through...most of them were 12. Younger and younger it seems to begin. Disheartening. I thought I wasn't the norm, attaining the rank I did at 13...but now it is so customary. _

**I have to laugh now.**

**It's all I have left now,**

**You should be here now,**

**Drying my tears now.**

She did not cry. One tear was all she had left. She should not cry. Hinata would sometimes cry, and she would have to be strong for her favorite student, whom she held a weak spot for that would never go away. Sure, there were times when Kiba and Shino had felt the hopelessness, but being a lover, not a fighter, she gently coaxed them forward into the life that they must lead. Who knew they would have an untimely end...to think they were only 15 was heart wrenching, because they were capable of so much more.These people that were dying...had so much more to live for.

**But you can't**

**Because they are falling thick and fast **

**For you**

**Because of you**

"You always said I meant something to you," Yuhi whispered, still clinging to the empty cigarette pack. "You hinted...but you were afraid to say for fear of promising something that you couldn't fulfill...but even when you didn't say, it was there. And you're still breaking my heart in death."

"Forgive my interruption," Kakashi said quietly, "but I hated to see you run out in such a hurried way."

Sure enough, the aging ninja was standing behind her, having snuck up in his typical way. His expression was stony.

"_Why_ did they do it?" she asked the gray-haired jounin, her eyes pleading for him to understand, for him to know. "What did he _know_? And then...for all those officers to try to pin it on the students, of all people."

"They had no other lead to go on," Kakashi said, slowly walking up to join her and they looked down on their reflections together. "They tend to use that tactic to learn more information...but it didn't work with Ino and Shikamaru..."

"And Chouji was already gone..." Yuhi muttered, dragging a painted nail across the surface of the cigarette box.

Kakashi nodded in agreement.

"And about Hinata, I'm sorry for being angry with you...if you suggested she go along...you must have had a good reason."

Kakashi glanced sideways at her, then smiled cheerfully and looked out over the water. "I did, don't you worry."

"May I know these reasons? She was_ my_ student," Yuhi inquired, dragging her pinky nail into the box and giving the copycat ninja a questioning look.

"Of course you may. At around, oh say, 6 will work for you?"

Yuhi turned completely around and looked him up and down, puzzled, but Kakashi did not look at her; he instead rested his chin on his closed fist.

"Why 6?" Yuhi asked. Kakashi stood up straight and smiled slightly.

"Because that's generally when people start ordering drinks," he replied, and began to walk away, hands in his pockets and Yuhi stared at his back as he walked away, mouth slightly open and her nail effectively punctured through the cardboard of the little box.

**But maybe my life will go on one day**

**Hopefully**

**And these dreams won't come so much**

**I won't keep being reminded so ruthlessly**

**Time goes on**

**I'm too old to have these silly hopes **

**still today**

**But I do.**

**We move on.**

The red-eyed woman watched him disappear in a cloud of smoke, and she leaned back against the railing and sighed, the cigarette box still in her hand.

"Hm."

* * *

Namen nai yo! 


	10. This Bloody Autumn Dance

**Should I do a disclaimer on every chapter?**

**Please excuse mistakes...I'm only human.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 10: This Bloody Autumn Dance**

_Leaves float._

_I cry salty tears of selfishness..._

_I am_ alive

_They dwell in the bushes._

_They chant their song of death._

_Go for the ankles. _

_----_

"Hm..." Naruto mused, turning the scroll over and over in his hands, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought; the others sat around him on logs of assorted sizes, while some used their backpacks. Either way, Sakura and Sasuke were struggling to act interested in their mail; quick glances and dirty glares, but they never met eyes.

"I wonder if it's important–HEY!" Naruto scowled as Shikamaru snatched it out of his hands and now observed it, actually intrigued.

"There's only one way to find out," Ino said maddeningly, eyes sparkling at the prospect of news.

"How?" Naruto asked seriously, and Ino slapped her forehead in exasperation; she snatched it from Shikamaru's hands and with a sharp nail slit the sticker holding it in it's shape; it unfurled and she handed it immediately to Sakura, who took it and as every time she read, her eyes traveled quickly down the parchment.

Sasuke was struggling not to look at her. It did not look strange; the rest of them were watching her, waiting, eager for the news, but it was so different to him. He caught himself smiling at the way she furrowed her little pink eyebrows in concentration and puzzlement as she read and reread, determined to understand and outwit, but shook his head slightly and replaced it with his usual scowl.

"Take a hike!" she burst out, raising her eyes to stare at Naruto. He expression was of puzzlement as he pointed at himself.

"Me? Sakura, I didn't do anything this time!"

"NO!" she retorted, crumpling the note within her dangerous, powerful grasp as if crushing a bug within her fingers. "All it says is 'take a hike'."

Like eager teenagers ready for gossip they crowded, but there was nothing to argue; there in plain black letters were the words, a mocking reminder of how little they knew about what they were doing.

"UGH!" Sakura groaned, getting to her feet and throwing the crumpled ball at Naruto's face and stomping off.

"What did _I _do?" he asked, tossing the crumpled paper to Shikamaru, who slowly opened it as the blonde got to his feet and hurried after Sakura, determined to talk to her; Sasuke watched his friend go, his piercing gaze stabbing every living, breathing thing within his line of sight, Lee included, although he really did not have anybody to be mad at but himself.

"Come on, Sakura, look, I talked to Sasuke and he explained to me how he felt and-"

"I don't _care_ how he feels. He's an insecure, stubborn insensitive jerk that can go burn in hell and have a goddamn cup of tea with the devil for all I care. I _don't_ care."

"Can you just listen to me?" Naruto pleaded, jogging to keep up with her fast-paced walk that she now adopted as she set her jaw, pink hair flowing behind her.

_I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I don't care I will never care-_

But those memories she'd repressed came up and slapped her ruthlessly in the face. With a gasp she stopped in her tracks.

_I don't care...I really don't care...I helped him once and I should never have..._

_But he almost died,_ said a tiny frightened voice in her mind, hiding in a little dark corner that she never visited anymore. She saw him lying on the ground in front of her, pathetic as he'd ever been, just a 15 year old boy that had never done a thing for her, but all he'd been was purple and red. The bruises and the blood. A painful reminder of what he had chosen to live for...the revenge that coursed through his veins and would never leave. He'd made a mistake, he'd said, trying to escape. There was some normality within him, but as soon as he could breathe on his own, he stumbled across the room and out the window and back to the people that had hurt him so badly, the people who made torture and pain a game.

"Can you just stop and–SAKURA!" Naruto yelled as he ran into her, the back of her head colliding with his sternum; wincing, he stared down at the top of her head and continued. "Are you finally going to stop and-"

But luckily he abandoned what he had wanted to say, and refined reflexes caught her as her knees gave way and he let her hit the ground more slowly than the memories had. Her back still to him she was shaking so badly, and if he could have seen her eyes, they were doing nothing but staring. Seeing nothing.

"You know..." Sakura started, her voice barely above a whisper and raspy, the sound of something rubbed on sandpaper. "I still...even after these years...nightmares...I see him crawling on his ungrateful bruised knees back here...when everything was too much...and I healed his pathetic self and sent him on his way with not so much as a hello...yet I cry for him at night, because it hurt me so badly to see him that way...he doesn't deserve one goddamn _shred _of my sympathy...but I gave it to him anyway...I saved his life and he left before the sun rose and now I'm _still_ here, _still_ crying, _still_ a pathetic little girl inside that I force myself to hide because I cannot let him see me this way."

Her knuckle found it's way to her mouth and she bit down, hard, one shaking arm struggling to steady herself as she leaned forward and looked down at the dirt, eyes still searching within herself for answers she would never find. Naruto put a hand on her shoulder, tugging slightly...her best friend silently asked her to turn around...she was not the only poor soul to have suffered at the hands of their teammate. Sasuke was his best friend...but the animosity was always going to be there.

"Sakura," he said firmly, grasping both of her shoulders, pushing..._turn around..._

She half-turned, her wide-eyed gaze looking at him and finally focusing through her blurry curtain of tears.

"You _do_ care. _We_ do care. No matter how much we tell ourselves we shouldn't...we do. No matter what we tell ourselves...after all he's done...we _have_ to care."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but seemed to think better of it. Instead she hugged him, this boy she had used to torment in primary school, now the man that would give up his life for anybody and had a heart of gold...and hopefully...would reach his dreams.

"I _do _care." Grip tightened out of sympathy; Naruto shook his head sadly and swept a tear off his friend's cheek and continued to shake his head.

* * *

**Go for the ankles.**

And the bell chimed.

"Let's begin," Iruka's voice said genially, as his foot slid back into the classroom and the door shut. The excited babble of little eager children swelled as their high voices rose to an earsplitting din that was only to be expected of the fresh class of young to-be ninja that Iruka had the pleasure of _attempting_ to teach. Down the hallways this action repeated; teachers quelled the babble with their own methods and doors were heard as they were closed, and the only one remaining in the hallway was Kurenai, who was not teaching at that moment. Lately it had been difficult to keep children in line, much less a fresh team of hyperactive Genin, and the recent...incidents that had befallen her own, well, she could not bear to deal with that over again, particularly because she only had one left. Simply wandering, she leaned against the wall and stared down at the floor, listening to the sounds of little children ready for the dangerous lifestyle they were being born into. If only they knew...

"Okay, let's begin," Iruka repeated, smiling amiably at the new group before him; ah, autumn always brought fresh new ninja into the mix, and he could admit they were hilarious to watch and enjoyable to watch them come and go. Definitely, he had become attached to this particular age group and enjoyed watching them come and go, but the latter was definitely a bit less gratifying. Over 25 pairs of shining eyes stared at him from their raised seats around the classroom; there was a stereotype to fit all desires: A couple shy girls sat primly, hands folded and head slightly bent, while a few other girls were obnoxiously outtalking the boys or flirting with them; one boy was already asleep, probably a very bright child that Iruka knew would take work.

One boy seemed exceptional; thin yet muscular stature, even for his young age, ruffled black hair, that kind that you weren't sure to comb it or not, falling down over his bright blue eyes andthat kind of smile that made an unsuspecting girls' heart melt to the floor wide on his handsome features. He was laughing and leaned on his elbow on the bare table, turning away from his seemingly many admirers; he took to staring out the window.

"Let's begin with names," Iruka began, curious like a child himself about the new students. From the top of the roll call he began, pronouncing (or mispronouncing) familiar (or unfamiliar) names and he gathered what he could from their responses. "Present", "Here", "Eh", "Charmed", etc. When he came to the end of the list, however, it was clear that he had not heard the handsome boy's name. Iruka frowned down at his paper and thought...this boy _did_ have a name? Surely? He was sure he had called everyone else...a quick count of heads, that were not even turned to his attention anymore and the names proved that this boy had somehow been missed.

"Well then...why don't you tell us your name?" Iruka asked the boy kindly. All he received to his hospitable suggestionwas another half-hearted shrug.

"I do not have one," he said quietly, staring fiercely at his instructor with a fiery gleam in his eye, daring him to contradict and continue the interrogation.

"Excuse-"

"He don't have one!" a girl piped up loudly, her syllables harsh and piercing and tumbling from her lips like a pile of pebbles. Compared to his calm tone and impeccable grammar, she defended him with powerful loyalty. "He don't have one...his mom dint love him and dint give 'im one. And we don' ever ask 'cause it upsets him-"

The boy widened his eyes at the girl who had so quickly defended him and her eyes filled with tears and he made a strange jerk at this sight; she blinked them away and folded her hands as if her outburst was nothing, now a quiet girl who would never speak again.

"It is nothing...I just prefer not to discuss the matters of my...lack of title...you may choose a suitable title _for _me if you wish," the boy spoke to Iruka, upstanding and clear. While he smiled his good-natured smile at his teacher, he immediately shot an intense glare at the fiery blonde that had so willingly defended him; she cleared her throat and did not speak.

"If that is...your wish," Iruka said, perplexed; still standing in front of his class he asked, "What sort of name would you like to be called?"

"I do not know..." the boy replied slowly, looking around the room with a smile as though the answer would be hanging on a wall for him to see. And it was; his eyes lit up as he saw a picture within many others in the row; it was Naruto, 8 years old and his blue eyes flashing, his rambunctious self waving at the camera. "Who's that?"

"Ah," Iruka said, smiling good-naturedly; the class watched curiously as their teacher walked to the wall and stood by the picture."_That_ is Naruto Uzumaki."

A murmur went through the class to the effect of a ripple; many had most likely heard of him.

"The one taken over by the foxie?" asked a girl, her eyes wide.

"He's a Chuunin now, right?"

"Yeah, with Team 7-"

"The pretty girl who helps Tsunade!"

"And that dark kid...the one whose family got killed-"

"Yeah, that traitor-"

"Didn't they used to own the military police force or something?"

"They're the ones who are in the contest!"

Now the children whispered excitedly amongst themselves, gossip and rumors and some things true; Iruka wondered vaguely how they knew so much, but then realized that their parents must have brought news home to them, and naturally, whether purposely or not, the little kids would form opinions. But one had mentioned the contest...that triggered a thought...he was due for a talk with Kakashi, or at least somebody who knew what was going on. While he tried to follow the events closely, he had other important things to worry about; Kohona and it's well-being and the supposed ties they were supposed to have with those around them.

"I like that name...I have heard much about him...he is a very talented ninja. He and Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha...they were Team 7, led by Kakashi..." The handsome young boy's eyes lit up in a way so reminiscent of Naruto that Iruka chuckled, and the other students seemed to hang on his every word; who was he related to? He possessed a goldmine of information that seemed deeper than he let on.

"Yes, they were...I have not seen them in a while," Iruka mused, slowly walking down the steps, down the rows, and seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. A long silence fell as the students allowed him about a minute's reminiscence before their curiosity got the better of them and they began to babble once again.

"Kakashi is _so_ cool, with his one eye and everything!"

"That contest, what is that for?"

"Well _my_ parents told me that it was like the exams, to prove who was strongest-"

"I heard that they could die in it 'cause it was made for only the best and it's set in that weird compound...the one with birds always circling it-"

"Area 13," one shy girl hissed, shaking a long strand of hair, black as the heart of the forest, out of her vision; with one shockingly pink eye flashing from within the curtain of locks, she continued, while some looked wary from the sound of her voice. "The birds circle because there's always _bloodshed_. It used to be a requirement for ninja wanting to pass the Chuunin exams a very long time ago. It was the first version of the Forest of Death stage, but it was too violent and few made it out alive, therefore cutting the numbers drastically in the military and there were not enough people, so they had to revise it. Created by legendary, powerful ninja long ago...the creators have been long deceased, and the complexity of the jutsus used on the compound made it extremely difficult to tear down, so now it's just listed as 'forbidden' status, and some of the military and ANBU officers were assigned to lessen the severity of the jutsu's placed on it."

A few girls looked stricken, Iruka was surprised at her boldness and curious of the nature of her sources, and a few of the young boys mouthed 'Wow' in silent disbelief.

"It's the ultimate test," she added, a small grin on her face, half hidden in the dark shadow that seemed to hover around her ominously. "But they can handle it. That will be only a pretest, compared to what-"

"Interested as you all are, I'm sure," Iruka interjected, giving the girl an apologetic look, "I have to stop you there; I cannot discuss these matters with my students, at least, not in the classroom during school. I apologize, Kami," he finished, and the girl nodded in acknowledgment of her name.

"I understand," she replied quietly, the bright shine in her pink eyes fading; she let her hair fall back over her face, her curtain of solitude and confinement that protected her from the world.

"Anyway, moving on to our topic for today, the-"

"**IRUUUKA SENSEEEEI!**"

**THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.**

Instinctively Iruka and every student's head swivelled in the direction of the sliding door, when a young teenager burst through it, eyes sparkling, headband lopsided on his messy hair and a toothpick hanging out of the corner of his mouth. Talking around it, his gaze swept quickly over the little children, who were all staring at his abrupt coming in a mixture of amusement, awe, and slight fear.

"I'm not your teacher, Konohamaru."

Konohamaru, now 14 and a Chuunin (which he had been for a couple years now), straightened and grinned his obnoxious grin that he still bore after these past long years. Bounding in, his eyes again roved over the small children, most of whom seemed utterly terrified except for the dark-haired boy, who observed him with interest. Striking a pose in front of his crowd, he pushed the toothpick with his tongue into the corner of his mouth and said, "That's okay. Ebisu gets angry when I still refer to him as my teacher, but he's just an angry person. Besides, you'll be able to answer the question that I have for you, since Ebisu wouldn't tell me_ anything_!" Resting weight on his hip he folded his arms and raised his eyebrows. "So here's my question-"

"If it has anything to do with the contest," Iruka interrupted, "I can't talk about it now."

"But they gotta know!" Konohamaru burst out, spitting out his toothpick and pulling a new one from his pocket.

"Sorry-"

"OI! MOEGI!" he yelled at the top of his lungs and half turned in the direction of the doorway. Scowling, he yelled louder, "_OI, MOEGI!_"

Iruka winced as the underlying buzzing that had been penetrating the walls from other classrooms fell to a silent hush.

"For the last time-"

"WHAT, KONOHAMARU?" A high-pitched voice was floating in from outside the sliding door, and the sound of running footsteps brought forth an orange-haired girl, her hair done up in elaborate pigtailswith permanently blush-stained cheeksrounded from her smile. Slamming the door open completely, she bounded in and in one fluid motion jumped on Konohamaru's back and laughed, her arms around his neck. "Didja ask him, didja?" Iruka stared, and Kurenai appeared in the doorway, one eyebrow raised and her eyes questioning the teacher, who shrugged.

"I didn't_ invite _them in here...I was _trying_ to teach."

"UUUUDON!" Moegi shrieked, and the young children's gazes were now dumbstruck, and again footsteps were heard; appearing now, short enough to walk in under Kurenai's arm that was against the frame, was Udon, headband askew as well as glasses; out of breath he took his glasses off and began to clean them on his shirt.

"Why hel_lo_," Udon greeted, momentarily distracted by the pretty Jounin now looking down at him with a strange look on her face, but Moegi slid off Konohamaru's back and dragged him over. Now a new team of Chuunin stood before the confused Jounin and the dumbstruck teacher.

"What's going on?" Kurenai asked, gesturing to the ninja assembled at the front of the classroom.

"I don't _know_,"Iruka hissed through gritted teeth, his temple pulsing.

"They want to ask you questions about the tasks that Team 7, Hinata, and the members from Team 10 are undergoing," the dark-haired boy said quietly, seeming to come out of reverie.

"And I have said this how many times now, I can't discuss it with my students!"

"But we're not your students," Konohamaru reminded cheekily, moving the toothpick with his tongue to the other side of his big mouth. Iruka slapped his forehead in exasperation, and Kurenai suddenly realized that this boy was related to...

The bell rung again, signaling a short recess for the young, energetic students, who created nothing short of a vicious stampede as they all poured out to join the masses heading out to the playground, running at hip-level; Iruka stumbled slightly, and the last children running out were the loyal blonde and the dark-haired boy.

"You have a lot of kids this year," Konohamaru remarked, and grinned at Iruka, who rolled his eyes and began to walk out, the team of Chuunin following, Kurenai bringing up the rear.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura emerged back into the clearing, expressions blank; everybody looked up at their arrival and they all looked disgruntled, telling them that there was no luck in deciphering their mail. Sasuke was leaning against a tree apart from the rest of the group, arms folded and typical arrogant air weighing heavily upon him, while Lee was against a different tree, unusually quiet, his eyes round yet blank. Both boys were thinking. 

"Well...we talked and we've decided that we should just do as it says...you know, walk and see where it gets us," Ino said, Shikamaru nodding beside her. Hinata also nodded in assent.

"Well that's a plan," Sasuke snorted quietly, and Lee snapped out of his reverie and stood up a bit straighter.

"Keep your mouth shut, no one asked you-"

"Both you shut up!" Sakura snapped fiercely, and both Lee and Sasuke's mouths were frozen in an 'o' of surprise. "It's the best thing we've got."

Both were so shocked they did not reply, instead took to glaring at each other. Sasuke recovered his poise instantly.

"Really, Lee, keep your mouth shut," Sasuke murmured, the ghost of a mocking grin on his face. Sakura pointed at him and spoke:

"I said shut the hell up, that means you too, you arrogant excuse for a-"

"_Sakura_," Naruto warned in an effort to curb her vicious tongue, and for once Sakura noticeably bit her tongue but did not finish her insult. Instead she looked at Tenten, who had not spoken once, not even to berate Lee, much like the way Sakura did to Sasuke. Tenten was staring off into space, sitting behind a nearby log away from the others and had her arms wrapped around her knees. It was so strange to see...normally she was so levelheaded and tried her best to curb the arguments and quell the fights. Now she was quiet and introverted, acting more like Hinata than herself.

"But if we are venturing out, we really should take precautions and at least dress accordingly and bring the proper weapons," Sakura said firmly, assuming her position as the leader and head medic, as if she knew what was best. "So let's say we leave in 10 minutes tops. The tents should be packed up, at the very least, fire completely out, nothing left out in the open. Alright?"

No one contradicted or argued; reluctantly Sasuke and Lee left their brooding positions and Sakura kneeled down at Tenten's height; the latter jerked and smiled immediately, her wide brown eyes bright. "Hi!"

"Are you alright, Tenten?" Sakura asked seriously, and the girl nodded her head vigorously and too quickly to not be lying. Sakura narrowed her eyes at this.

"Just...I didn't sleep well last night, is all."

"Why?"

Tenten frowned. "You're being a bit nosy."

"I just want to make sure there's nothing wrong...we've been here for what, a day, and already some weird shit has been going on...and when you got upset last night, well, it was so unlike you."

They sat in silence for a few seconds; while Tenten was grateful someone was concerned, too much information would make her seem as though she had doubts about her own choices...and that would not suit her.

"Just...I..."

"You miss Neji, don't you?"

Tenten gasped...his name had not been spoken for weeks except when she whispered it to herself in the confines of her sleeping bag, where no one could hear. Biting her lip, she swallowed. "Yeah."

"You know...I don't want to get your hopes up but...I really don't think he's dead, you know."

Tenten sighed. "I don't know what to think."

Sakura patted her shoulder and got to her feet, stretching and smiling. "It'll be okay," she lied; it did no good to have everyone upset and mournful. The fights between her and Sasuke and Lee were trying enough. "A good hike might do you some good, get your mind off it, you know?"

Sakura walked away and immediately began taking down a tent, getting right to work as her teammates around her did the same.

Tenten got to her feet and pulled a needle out of her pocket, twirling it in her practiced fingers and running her fingertips over the smooth, sharp metal, it was calming. She walked slowly toward the others, lost in thought once again as she had been so much lately.

She could not tell anyone the real reason she was spacing out, the real reason she could not sleep, the reason she had lost her temper on Ino the night before and felt like murdering anyone who dared test her normally patient manner. Spacing out...she could not stop reliving memories...Insomnia...because all she could think about when lying in the dark was all that blood, all of his panicked screams that she never thought_ the_ Neji Hyuga could ever scream. Losing her temper so quickly...anything that reminded her of those painful interrogations that she'd dealt with about his death, the accusations she had faced and still did because no one believed her. They had a reason not to. While she knew she was not the only one facing these problems, the fact remained that when Ino had told her off for constantly feeling sorry for herself, it made her blood boil in a way that almost hurt. She knew Ino was having a bit of reputation bashing herself, what with the recent unexplained death of her former Sensei, but still...at least Ino knew she was _innocent_...Tenten did not know what to think of herself anymore. Was she the murderer that Ibiki had accused her of being? Should she have disobeyed Neji's final wish, despite his pleads?

Her finger slipped; her finger never slipped before; she whined a bit as she sucked on the end of her finger and went to rejoin the group, plastering her smile on.

There was not much left to do; Sakura had packed most of the tents, and was now walking off toward a large clump of bushes with her clothes in her hand, presumably to change. Sasuke was still loitering against a tree and Lee was eyeing Sakura carefully as she walked off. Ino was shoving things into her bag looking, for some reason, somber, and Shikamaru was talking to her in a low voice; Tenten wondered curiously where Ino's normal perky (yet sometimes bitchy) attitude had gone, but shrugged it off. Hinata and Naruto were conversing while making sure the fire was put out, smiling shyly at each other.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sasuke abandoned his brooding fest and hitched his bag a bit higher on his shoulder before stalking off in the direction the medic had left, and Lee watched him with narrowed eyes. Tenten watched and waited, counting down the seconds.

_3...2...1...and there goes Lee,_ she said to herself as Lee also followed toward the large clumps of bushes. She shook her head and sighed...she just couldn't go babysit him right then, while she didn't want to let him cause trouble for Sakura. _Oh well...maybe Sakura can just incapacitate them both. _

A particularly thick clump of bushes served as Sakura's dressing room; she was brushing her teeth first, though, since she could not go the day without brushing her teeth. When she was finished with that she inspected her surroundings; a high branch was used to hang the clothes. The bushes were thick enough and high enough to the point that all you could see while she was changing was her neck and up.

Not too far away, Sasuke's feet had somehow carried him to a different bush; and there in plain sight was Sakura, pulling her camisole over her head; Sasuke coughed and ducked low; he really hadn't meant to-

_Heh, sure._

_Ah...shit...she catches me and she'll probably kill me on the spot._

_Damn her...it's sure entrancing..._

Sakura obviously did not notice him staring like an open-mouthed idiot at her while she changed, and he probably would have gotten away unscathed had someone not tackled him to the ground at his knees.

"GOD DAMN IT!" he swore, now face down in the dirt, lashing out and kicking whoever had his knees.

"You sick pervert," Lee hissed, and when Sasuke heard his voice he kneed Lee in the jaw and wormed free of his grasp.

"I was just changing!"

"In a bush barely _two feet away_ from-"

"What are _you_ doing here, then?"

"Making sure you don't try any funny stuff," Lee accused, raising himself up on his knees and glaring down at Sasuke. Sasuke raised himself to his knees, which was an impressive move because of his towering height and faced Lee, square on.

"I bet _you_ wanted to get a look at her," Sasuke retorted, realizing how childish he sounded. _Why the hell am I fighting over her anyway? _"In which case means that I'm going to fucking kill you."

But instead of a brawl worthy of boast over their egos, both simply got into a equally matched wrestling fight, which would be something a real ninja would call a slapfight. And that's where Sakura found them, her other shirts in her clenched hand, meaning only her undershirt was on; she stared down at them in disbelief, probably not realizing how much her chest was visible as she leaned over the brush and said, "What the hell are you _doing_? You look like two little girl scouts in a slapfight," she said.

Both boys stopped at her presence and presumably the sight of her chest and immediately stood up, brushing themselves off and not looking at each other.

"Changing," they muttered in unison.

"In the same bush?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well then, I'll leave you two girls alone," she finished, walking back to her own private clump of brush.

"Yeah, get out of _my_ bush," Sasuke snapped, promptly shoving Lee out with one arm.

"And stop fighting over bushes...you know how immature you sound?" Sakura called, and Sasuke snorted and turned away from her.

"Bleh, stop fighting over bushes, you know immature you-"

"**I can hear you!**" Sakura yelled, cutting across his cruel but accurate impression of her nagging.

Sasuke wanted so badly to retort but his pride stung from being labeled 'immature', so he huffed and changed, actually keeping himself from looking over at all. His finishing touch was his long sleeved dark green shirt that he preferred over the green vest; he now sat on the ground struggling with his bandages, and huffed again as the bandage somehow became stuck to his nose. He yanked it off painfully and it then attached to a lock of his precious hair; seething, he ripped that off too, cursing loudly as it ripped out a few strands of hair and now it attached to his arm, and since he had been wrapping his leg this proved to be a problem.

"Son of a-"

"Need some help?" Sakura asked, her face peering down at him from over the bushes; Sasuke only further embarrassed himself when the bandage effectively bound his right arm to his left leg and he was forced to lay on his side like an absurd turtle. He growled and shook his head no and snapped like a vicious animal, and now the bandages were in his teeth. Sakura burst out laughing.

"You're embarrassing," she said, and hopped over the bush to help the poor retarded soul.

Nimbly, she slit the tape, unbinding his arm and leg, then took the material out of his mouth gently; he glared at her in thanks. Slowly she took his left leg into her lap and began to bind it tightly with the customary bandages; he did not look at her from beneath his curtain of locks. Gently setting his leg aside as though he were compiled of glass, she took his right one and bound it tightly; all was silent until she reached his knee; he gritted his teeth and jerked away from her. She raised her eyes from her work and locked her gaze on his, while he struggled to remain expressionless.

"You haven't been taking care of your knee."

"Maybe you should have healed it better," Sasuke muttered in reply, looking away from her.

"I'm not a miracle worker," she snapped, dragging his knee closer and giving him a reproachful glare. She bound it tightly and stood up, indicating that he do the same and he complied, purposely letting his weight fall onto his dominant side to prove he was fine.

"You're pathetic," she said, sighing and pushing through the bush, and he followed.

As she walked he observed her outfit; it had been a while since she had been out of her medic uniform and in her field clothes...

_Wow...and does she look great in those field clothes..._

_Shut up._

Sakura's hair was in a low but sturdy ponytail with long pink strands left out on both sides of her round face, the ends brushing her neck where the ever-obvious bruise stood out on her skin. In addition to her undershirt, she wore two more, a black and a red, the latter on top and short sleeved, the black mesh visible due to the V-neck of the red shirt. These were of average length and just barely overlapped the top of her tight green shorts, her weapons pockets strapped on each of her hips and her leaf village headband resting comfortably on her waist, belonging.

"Be careful," Sasuke said abruptly. Sakura turned to look at him, questioningly.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"I honestly didn't think you cared," Sakura said, putting her hands behind her head and walking a bit faster so he was forced to watch her strut away. "But I don't need you to protect me...I'm stronger than you think."

Sasuke breathed through his nose, letting it in quick and out slow with a strange whistling sound; he did not reply.

They reached the clearing and the others were assembled in a semi-circle, bags ready and everybody changed. Sakura grinned.

"Let's go!"

* * *

**As they play innocent games they crumple...**

**Go for the ankles.**

Disquiet...

The dark-haired child noticed but did not speak. Iruka, Kurenai, and the team of Chuunin stood in a circle, Iruka and Kurenai occasionally telling the children not to pull weapons on each other as Kohohamaru excitedly began.

"So you've heard, right? Where they went, what they're doing, what it's for?"

"If you're talking about the contest, then yes, I have," Iruka replied, casting a wary glance at the sky from the corner of his eye. "Although I did not press people for the details..."

"Well I pestered the old man enough and he told me everything," Konohamaru said proudly, puffing out his chest, while Moegi nodded in agreement and Udon nodded once in confirmation. Kurenai folded her arms and stared out at the sky, red eyes surveying the equally bloody clouds...a strange color for the morning, even for a storm...

"Alright then, tell us everything you know," Iruka said, putting on a mock curious face and folding his arms as well.

Konohamaru grinned and ruffled his hair a bit, pushed the toothpick to the other side of his mouth, and took a deep breath. "Well see, after past observances, files, and teacher recommendation, certain people were chosen to take this test. The old man said this wasn't planned until recently 'cause, well, the ties between the villages are being tested and strained, and after the return of Sasuke it's been getting worse. He didn't tell me _all_ the reasons that he's worried, but if it's upsetting him it's probably bad."

"Naturally, Naruto, being as strong as he was along with excellent recommendations from the old man and Kakashi, given his performances on missions and whatnot he was one of the first candidates. Sasuke was taken too despite his disloyalty, and Sakura was taken because Tsunade insisted. Ino was taken but I don't know why, as well as Shikamaru, who the old man said displayed excellent leadership and blah blah, when he was captain of a team for a while, and all members of Team 10 would have been recommended if...well...they could only take two."

"Why?" Iruka asked, a little embarrassed that he was not up to date with all of the news. "Who didn't they take?"

"Neji Hyuga," Moegi said quietly, her head bent.

"He never came back from that overnight mission to the little village that sprung up past Black Castle," explained Kurenai quietly, remembering that fateful night all too well.

Iruka was silent.

"So they took Rock Lee and Tenten, and then Kakashi recommended, and pushed, for Hinata Hyuga to take part as well."

"You let Hinata do this? From what I heard this wasn't a walk in the park," Iruka said to Kurenai, who looked away.

"Anyway," Konohamaru said impatiently, waving that away, "These recent failed missions and murders...well...apparently this is all connected somehow. Naruto and the other 7 ninja are going to be sent on a special mission, and the old man wanted them to complete this task first, saying that if they could do this, they should be able to do anything."

"Could you quit calling him 'old man'?" Iruka asked. Konohamaru ignored him.

"And it's supposed to be extremely dangerous...but there's quite a few things to take care of before they send them off anyway, and that compound, well...it can drive a person crazy. At least that's what the old man said."

"I never thought they'd actually put ninja through that anymore," Kurenai said quietly, staring out at the quickly darkening sky; a distant rumble of thunder sounded ominously as though it were right behind the treetops, but the sun still shone brightly from one direction. "Kakashi said it was rough, that compound."

"An extended version of the Forest of Death stage in the Chuunin exams," Udon added. Iruka turned to the playground and his eyes scanned it quickly, making sure no one was pulling a kunai on anyone else and his eyes found the pink-eyed, black-haired girl that had so quickly and confidently rattled off the finer details of Forbidden Area 13. High in a tree she sat, one leg dangling over the branch and she was watching the clouds billow frighteningly in the distance.

"Looks like a storm," Moegi commented unnecessarily, and she leaned her head on Konohamaru's shoulder; they turned to watch it come in all it's majestic glory, the clouds billowing like smoke from a fast growing fire, the thunder now coming more frequently and the sun slowly becoming obscured, while the children continued to play.

"Normally it smells like rain, though," Udon commented, his mind working furiously as his eyes seemed to calculate the distance that the clouds and thunder were moving. "And it's moving awfully fast...faster than any storm I've ever seen."

The girl with the pink eyes, Kami, carefully let herself slide down the trunk and walked up to the dark-haired boy with no name, and they struck up a quick conversation, and the blonde warmed up to the other girl immediately, which was fairly strange. Others were playing kickball, tag, shove random kids around into walls, pick apart sticks and chuck them at each other, and other assorted childhood games. Girls pushed each other on the swings, and there was one left; the blonde gestured to it and ran up and sat, and the dark-haired boy offered to push her; the dark-haired girl waited for her turn patiently and watched him push her.

Iruka sat watching this lazily...it was strange to watch children interact with each other. They were so young...Kurenai stared at the sky, her eyes wider than normal as a vibrant branch of lightening flashed against the black clouds and thunder rumbled once again. The puffy blackness was painted with red veins that snaked across the sky and were catching the attention of some of the children.

"We should take them in," Kurenai told Iruka, her eyes still round and fearful.

"Are you okay?" he asked, peering at her. "Not a fan of storms?"

"It's just...that's no ordinary storm," she replied, uncomfortable. Moegi must have felt the same, for she left Konohamaru's side and quelled a frightened whimper; she turned on her heel and sprinted toward the door without warning, and Konohamaru ran after her, confused.

Kurenai looked concerned, and Iruka cast her a worried glance and looked out at the sky; blood-red veins still decorated the clouds and the most recent clap of thunder sounded very close. He heard the door slam after Moegi and Konohamaru, and Kurenai was now watching Kami and the blonde and the dark-haired boy on the swings.

**Force yourself to watch the innocent children fall.**

**They are who we are fighting for...**

"Push me _higher_!" the fair girl giggled, pumping her legs as to gain as much height as she could.

"If you in_sist,_" the boy replied, and scurried backwards to keep from being smacked by the swing; he was strong for his age and when the swing came back to meet him he braced himself, planted his feet and grasped the metal hook where it met the seat; with a loud laugh he ran forward and the girl giggled and she was off, flying as far as she could, nearly higher than the branch the tree was attached to. Indeed it did seem as though she were flying, her height never seemed to be enough...higher...Kami stood up in awe, her fair pink eyes watched the blonde's progress on the swing, and time seemed to slow down...

**And as they play innocent games**

**They crumple.**

**Caught in the fire.**

But power could only take the swing so far, and as it reached it's peak height her laughs were drowned by a sickeningly close clap of thunder and the swing began to fall; Kami watched in delight and called out, "I am going next!"

But she was not.

The tiniest movement came from the bushes as black clouds swept over so quickly, obliterating the sun and casting a deadly hush over the playground; other children stared up fearfully at the sky as forked lightening lit up the surroundings bright as daytime, and even Kami tore her eyes away from her friends to stare, openmouthed, at the terrible sight above them; other teachers were calling their kids off the equipment and swings, searching for them up in trees. Frightened, some began to cry, and Kurenai grabbed Iruka's arm and pointed at the little blonde, still on the swing. As she came down her expression of delight was changing to confusion, and then she screamed out in pain–

As gravity pulled the swing down the girl latched onto the chains on the side, but she could not hold herself on and her legs went completely limp; something pierced her ankle and she shrieked hysterically and let go as the swing came up again...Kami ran toward her, falling into the terrible slow motion that seemed to occur as the blonde landed in a heap on the dusty ground, still shrieking like a dying bird, writhing and twisting–

Kami was almost to her friend when she cried out and seemed to sway...her legs crumpled beneath her and her ankles seemed to turn in grotesquely as she fell flat on her face...another little girl was trying to keep themselves on the swing, but they could only drag their limp legs on the ground in the dirt to stop and they fell too. Children running across the dirt in panic, finding friends or wedging themselves into tight corners out of fear.

"GET THEM INSIDE!" Kurenai screamed, and other teachers across the yard called their classes, shepherding children inside, scooping the fallen off the ground. The thunder was a blanket that effectively covered them, echoing in their ears ruthlessly as an alarm clock, and the lightening painted morbid pictures across the black sky, the red glow still cast around the entire area. Udon rushed to hold open the door as the children who had not fallen created a thick mob, bunching at the door and scattering as they made it in; Iruka and Kurenai went for the children now on the ground, and it was terrifying to watch as more ran and were shot down like soldiers...they cried out in pain and their ankles and legs always gave way as they twisted and danced, struggling to keep the little balance they possessed as children before falling and doing the only thing they understood when faced with this...scream...

**But children are the target because**

**It's a soft spot to us all...**

"It hurts," Kami gasped, dragging herself with her arms to make it to her friend, who was still crying hysterically and clutching her right ankle, blood bubbling through her little dexterous fingers and staining the dirt. Iruka scooped Kami in one arm and the blonde in the other and ran toward the door, setting them gently on the ground before going back out to help the rest. He remembered the boy with no name and his eyes searched the playground frantically...the dark-haired boy was still under the tree, his back to the academy and staring out at the sheets of rain that were now growing into torrents; puddles grew in seconds and the thunder roared in their ears...Iruka ran to the tree and grabbed the boy's shoulders and began to tug.

"Let's go, come on-"

"**AUGH!**" the boy cried out and Iruka now held all his weight; he'd been hit too, and his legs folded beneath him and the boy tried to speak but could not in his blind shock.

Iruka picked him up and ran blindly through the torrential downpour toward the faint light that was from the door...Udon was waving his arm in the darkness and it was amazing how difficult it was to make it from the tree to the school...as though in the pitch-blackness during a snowstorm...and it had come so quickly...

Iruka reached the door and handed the boy to Udon, who handed him to someone else and continued to hold the door open, and Iruka remembered Kurenai; she was far across the playground, half-dragging half-carrying a girl and a boy who did not look hurt but extremely shaken; they stumbled and fell and she could only go as fast as them and she urged them on; she was soaked and her head swivelled in fear as the thunder roared again.

"Come on!" she yelled, and the children struggled to run faster but could not...they were slipping on the now muddy ground, and Iruka hung in the doorway and yelled to her:

"Was that the last of them?"

"I think so," she said breathlessly, only a couple feet away from the door, and she almost made it–

Foot caught...all she knew was that she was falling and she could not fall...she shoved both of the children forward into Iruka and he pulled them inside and that was the last thing she saw before falling completely into the mud...she felt her ankle twist and snap and her entire body turned a different direction which was painful enough.

_I don't...want to die...not now...it's just my ankle..._

She'd fallen hard, and someone was saying her name but she remained on her side, gasping and trying to raise herself up on her arms but that someone stopped speaking and simply picked her up instead and carried her over the threshold and set her down on the ground...she struggled to clear her vision of the mud and the roaring was quieter now...Udon must have shut the door, and now the shrieking, the hysteria of the children was echoing in her ears, painfully...

"Ugh," Kurenai groaned, using her sleeve to wipe the filth off her face and was met with a disturbing sight...the floor covered in blood from all those kids...stumbling around, injured, while some seemed unhurt but sobbing hysterically, crying for parents and siblings, the floor was slippery and little feet and big alike squeaked.

She turned around and saw Iruka, who was locking the door and telling Udon to run and get Tsunade, who agreed and hurried off, and said "Thanks, for that."

Iruka gazed at her in puzzlement and slowly shook his head. "I didn't get there in time," she told her, smiling ever-so-slightly. Confused, she turned and leaned her head against the wall and wondered who had just helped her...

But the question was answered when a shadow fell over her.

"Can you stand?" he asked, and put out a hand for her; Kurenai took it gratefully and awkwardly got to her feet, using his tall frame for most of the support.

"Well enough," she replied, but her knuckles were white as they gripped his arm. Kakashi glanced at her and then out over the room...the disturbing scene that lay before them...the children still screaming for people that were not there...clutching ankles, wedged into corners and under desks as small as they could...

"What...could have happened?" Kurenai said quietly, swallowing to keep her lip from trembling or shaking. She looked at Kakashi as though he must have an answer...his sense of humor was present even at a time like this, but it was bitter sarcasm that sprinkled his words.

"I just know that it's going to be _a lot _of paperwork..."

**For when autumn comes...**

**They dance as they crumple...**

**Their weak little ankles. **

* * *

Confused? 

Good.

Ha.


	11. For Ignorance Is Impartial Bliss

_Yeah..._

_I'm a wuss...this made me cry._

* * *

**Chapter 11: For Ignorance Is Impartial Bliss**

**Beep.**

**Beep.**

**Beep.**

Just a sound...that was all it was.

A sound that kept up the underlying, inevitable feeling that life would not last, death was around the pale, pink painted corner of the infirmary. It echoed...just like the sounds of clanking medical instruments, mumbling voices and the unheard buzzing from no one...the sound of unspoken words bouncing off the insides of skulls that they did not dare voice.

The children ignored all around them...there were quite a few lying in the beds, some sleeping, some hovering, some vibrant and perky as ever. But one thing held true, one symptom was similar, none of them could walk.

"How many?" Kami asked her companion quietly, placing a card on the gleaming white pillow and waiting, dark hair falling over her pink eye.

The other little girl on the bed was silent as her eyes surveyed her hand, then gently tugged two cards from it and placed them, one corner overlapping the other to reveal her match of queens. Kami watched her and the little blonde sighed and rubbed her tousled hair.

"Erm...I think 2..."

"You were pierced in each?"

"I think so," the blonde replied, suppressing a shudder and shifting her feet out from underneath her...she couldn't feel herself sitting on them.

"I was only hit once..." Kami muttered, raising her eyes to her friend with pity and guilt etched on her hauntingly beautiful, yet harsh face. "They must have been targeting you as you swung."

The blonde nodded and swallowed and picked at the thick bandage around her left ankle. It was annoying.

"Please, dear, do not pick at it...it could slow the healing process," an orderly gently reprimanded, and then went on to check on the dark-haired boy lying in the bed nearest the window. He was not even awake, and both of the little girls remembered how long they had lain awake, listening to his panicked cries as they tried to stop the bleeding...he was worse off than they were.

Kami snorted quietly. "They don't know what's wrong."

"Do you think?" the blonde asked fearfully, her tiny knuckles tightening around the cards in her hand. "Do you have a 2?"

"Go fish," Kami replied, and then said, "They have less information than we do. At least we know how it felt...they cannot understand that."

They fell into silence once again and continued to play their game, but not before, in unison, giving one last pitiful look to the dark-haired boy, who sniffled in his sleep that did nothing but plague him with pain and nightmares.

* * *

Kakashi cleared his throat as he crossed the threshold, and Kurenai looked up gratefully; her face was pale and tired and strained. 

"How are they doing?" she asked, and the tall jounin sat down, heavily, on the couch next to her.

"They have no idea," he replied. "The symptoms are scattered...some are completely normal, some are having fits, some are sleeping peacefully, some not so much...but one thing is consistent...none of them can walk."

Kurenai's round red eyes surveyed him with painful intensity, as if she were pleading him to be joking, this to be a twisted nightmare, anything to be not what it looked like.

"If only I'd-"

"Don't," Kakashi interrupted her harshly, fixing her with a glare from his one uncovered eye and shaking his head. "There was absolutely _nothing_ you could have done...be grateful that you weren't hurt too."

"I wouldn't have cared," Kurenai replied, her constant feelings of unworthiness now finally voicing. "It seems that everything I cared for, ever, is leaving me and I cannot stop that."

Kakashi fell silent, perhaps unsure how to begin...there was no doubt in his mind that the deaths of her students and the one person that she had been closest to on an adult level was taking a toll on her. The fact his cause of death was still unexplained and that it was the same person, or people, that had killed Sakura's mother.

As if she was listening to him think, Kurenai asked, "What are you going to do about Sakura's mother?"

Kakashi grimaced slightly underneath his mask and did not reply right away.

"I mean...you can't tell her _now_...will you wait until after?"

"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" Kakashi snapped, sounding like an old man as he rubbed his chin; Kurenai opened her mouth, but thought better and closed it, folding her hands.

Kakashi cleared his throat and said "Sorry," in a quiet voice, not particularly accustomed to apologies.

"What can I say...she's my favorite. She was always the voice of reason, and while she never had the drive to prove herself like the other two did, she still had a good head on her shoulders and proved herself when the time was right. They're going to be confused, tired, and considerably angry when they emerge from this test, and we have to whisk them off into an interrogation room and how am I...going to explain this to her? As a child she never dealt with loss and heartbreak, not like Naruto, who grew up with no parents, not like Sasuke, who even worse...they were killed. Leaving both boys in a setting that would test them beyond anything they could have thought...how do I drop that on Sakura...she won't know what to do." Kakashi finished with another clearing of the throat and stared at the wall opposite him, silent.

"I'm sorry," Kurenai whispered, absentmindedly trailing her hand on Kakashi's gloved one. "But it has to be done. They will put the funeral on hold, right?"

"They will," Kakashi said quietly, yet fiercely, the protective tone in his voice so blatant that Kurenai smiled just a bit.

Falling into a comfortable silence they were quiet, enjoying the fact that there was absolutely nothing going on...these past few months had been torturous, going and going until eventually there was a steady deprival of sleep and death was nothing but a thing, and you were immune. And talking had not been an everyday thing between friends, between the coworkers, for there was so much to be done, so much that had happened, so much to be investigated and still so much more to be planned. There was no denying the fact that Kohona was plunging into war again, and there was no evidence this time. When you were dealing with other countries and villages, proof was everything.

"How is your ankle?" Kakashi inquired, unusually quiet. His attention was not focused on her, but on her long, red painted nails; he ran his fingertips over them, intrigued.

"Well, it's not broken," Kurenai replied, stretching it a bit to show. "Just sore...no reason to worry...although I wish I was not so-"

"You got the children inside, that's what matters...they would have died if no one had gotten them," Kakashi interrupted, tilting his head like a dog hearing a familiar word and still strangely interested in her nails. On her right hand, the nail of the ring finger was shorter, brittle, chewed as if out of nervousness or distress.

In all the time he had known her, she had never, not in his long memory, chewed her nails. Ever.

Kurenai snatched her hand back and unconsciously rubbed, with her thumb, the area beneath the second knuckle of the finger...the place where a wedding ring would be. And there she realized her mistake.

"Kurenai," Kakashi said quietly; he took her hand back and inspected her ring finger with a scrutinizing expression; she tugged gently but he did not comply.

"Kurenai," he repeated, raising his eyes to her; she looked away and let her hair fall over her face...her body began to shake.

"Let _go_," she said, pulling harder, "It's nothing, I just–let go–I–"

"He _didn't_," Kakashi said, still keeping a powerful grip on her hand, not knowing whether to smile or not, still trying to make her look at him. "Is this why–?"

"No, it's not, he didn't-"

"Where is the ring, then?"

"There _isn't_ one!" Kurenai said loudly, her eyes screwed up against his questions and still she pulled.

"Why aren't you–"

"DO YOU THINK I _WANT_ TO WEAR IT?" she shrieked, losing it and now fighting tooth and nail to escape the powerful Jounin's tight hold. She struggled and pushed him away, shaking her head as if she could clear the whole painful memory away...the best moment of her life, the worst moment of her life, everything she'd ever wanted and yet she still regretted ever opening up, ever saying a word. But he'd had her from the day she'd been introduced; he'd certainly had her from his first suave hello.

And now her head rested on Kakashi's chest and she cried, still attempting to push him away for all the good he'd done. She didn't want the sympathy.

"Do you think I _want_ to remember how good it could have been...and everything I've lost _now_?" she asked, hands curled up against her breasts...she felt like a little child in her father's arms, begging and pleading him to fix the world for daddy's little girl...but there is always the day that he must explain to his little girl that he was not a miracle worker...and there was nothing he could do.

"No...I suppose not," Kakashi agreed, holding her tightly, protectively.

"I should've thought before I took that leap and said..."

"You couldn't expect that to happen, Kurenai," Kakashi told her, his chin resting on top of her head.

"But that's how it _works_," she protested. "With all that had been going on...he took a chance for happiness...and it was ruined...and I wish he'd never done it at all," she whispered.

"He did seem in a better mood than usual that day," Kakashi said, not to remind her of him, but perhaps to remember the man himself. "Gai and I asked him a couple times if he was alright...he was always so calm and collected...but that day it was different, he was almost excited...it was subtle, but it was there...he walked as if he owned if the earth, and nothing could bring him down from, nothing could stop him. You were busy that day, but he asked us where you were all day."

"But he knew where I was because I told him," Kurenai muttered. Kakashi almost smiled.

"He needed something to keep his mind on it, I guess. As I said, there was no doubt in my mind that he truly cared about you."

There was a pause. Kurenai sighed. "He always said I made him forget about his day...and at first it was once in a while he said it, and I took it as a compliment because I didn't think anything of it at the time...he said it when we finally had to leave and he dropped me home and I don't think I had ever seen him so...happy...is the only word I have to describe it. God, and now...I should've stayed with him that night, why didn't I? Why didn't I? Maybe then...this wouldn't have happened...maybe we could have at least...died together..."

"Kurenai!" Kakashi snapped, grasping her chin and raising it, so they met eyes. She faltered.

"I knew him. He _loved_ you. Did you love him?"

Kurenai nodded without haste, biting her lip.

"He wouldn't want you to do this, you _know_ that. You need to be grateful that you are still here, still alive, because if you had been with him that night...they most likely would have killed you and then him. Your death would be painful to others around you, you know this." Kakashi stared at her fiercely, daring her to contradict him.

"But...I don't want to be...apart..."

"If you two truly loved each other, then nothing, not even death, would make that feeling falter," he stated slowly, his wisdom making her realize the truth. Kurenai hung her head and laughed quietly.

"I didn't think...that _you_, of all people...would be able to talk about..."

Kakashi looked slightly offended, but took it good-naturedly and brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Why? Because I'm a man?"

Kurenai smiled. "No. Because you're...well..._you_."

Kakashi continued his feigned offense and crossed his arms. "Just because I always have a book in my hand."

"_No_!" Kurenai said, covering her mouth because that was what she had been thinking... somewhat.

"The only thing I have left to say," Kakashi began, and Kurenai's expression was serious immediately, "Is that you're still here...so you must be here for a reason."

Kurenai abruptly grabbed the front of his vest, letting his profound words soak in...he certainly had a point. But then why _was_ she still here? They obviously had not been after her...Kakashi watched her thoughts dance across her face with a raised eyebrow, until–

"_**Kakashi**!"_ Iruka yelled, and the two Jounin on the couch turned their heads as Iruka ran past the doorway and then realized that he'd past the person he was looking for; Iruka ran backward and ran through the opening, his face serious and strained. Kurenai saw, looking at Kakashi, that his face mirrored the teachers.

"Erm..." Iruka coughed strangely, and Kurenai got up hastily, straightening regally and hoping her face did not bear too much indication of her tears.

"What's wrong?" Kurenai asked, her question holding two meanings that Iruka caught.

"Nothing," he muttered, and Kakashi stood up easily; Iruka turned to Kakashi and his face lost all puzzlement as he spoke. "The infirmary."

Kurenai felt her heartbeat come to a screeching stop. _God no...not one of them...they couldn't have...died..._

Kakashi swept past her and out the door with Iruka, leaving Kurenai to shake her head to convince herself that nothing was wrong, hurrying after them, heartbeat now pounding in her ears.

* * *

"SAAAAKURAAAA!" 

"WHAT, DAMNIT?"

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

"WHAT?"

"I SAID, WHERE–ARE–YOU?"

"I'm right here, idiot," Sakura snapped; she was kneeling by the riverbank and peering in it's depths, occasionally tilting her head to what seemed to be her own reflection. Naruto grinned and joined her, kneeling also, looking at whatever she seemed to be looking at.

"What 'cha doin'?"

Sakura frowned her pink eyebrows at the sight before her; to others it was probably normal, but this river was so different from the others and held a strange...aura? Atmosphere? What was the word? She did not know and could not explain, which made her sound completely crazy. "Doesn't this water seem...weird to you?"

Naruto put on a look of concentration and abruptly threw his head in as if bobbing for apples, his blonde locks submerged and wide blue eyes staring at the bottom. Pulling his head out he spat out a mouthful of water and shook like a dog, leaving his hair spiked and tousled. "Not really...oh wait," he said, peering but there was really no need since the water was eerily crystal clear. "There's not a single fish...or bug...or anything."

"Yeah, that's the first thing I thought was strange," Sakura said, and then she stood up and pointed at an area near the middle of the water. "Now look there."

Naruto obeyed and a large, white round orb swam into focus...it hung high and held an unearthly glow as though it were actually nighttime.

"Is that...the moon?"

"That's what I mean, isn't it weird?" Sakura said maddeningly. "Get the others."

Soon the group was lined up along the riverbank as Sakura explained what she could see and they all could too.

"That is really _weird_," Ino said, stepping back from it and folding arms as if struck with a sudden chill.

"Yes, we've established it's weird," Sasuke snapped, although he was keeping a safe distance from the water's edge as well; in fact, nobody was within two feet of it except Sakura, who swirled her hand around in it and frowned; she was determined to figure out what it was.

"Hm," Sasuke mused as he looked to the sky; faint and distant thunder rumbled ominously, threatening them. "Maybe this is what we were supposed to find on our little 'hike'". He spoke the word 'hike' with contempt and dismay.

"Probably," Ino said, still a good distance away from it and tugged Shikamaru back from getting any closer. Lee was on one side of Sakura, Sasuke the other, and both watched her drop back to her knees and bend over, putting her the tip of her nose almost to the surface; the moon shimmered frighteningly under the surface now, the eerie clearness mocking her as she still could not find a single particle of something else, except for the pebbles that littered the bottom. They were all perfectly round and seemed to comprised of something silver and shiny.

"Another thing," Naruto said, and Sakura glanced at him, "it's really warm, at least when you put your head in."

"Let's follow it," Sakura ordered, gripping the edges of the riverbank to keep herself from leaning over too far. She still stared within it's clear depths...trying to find something...something that made it seem normal...

"Oh my god," she whispered, plunging her hand deep into it...it swam in and out of focus, sometimes a hand simply floating in the clear water, but then it would sink beneath folds of darkness that shimmered across like stripes...

"There's something down there," she continued, and she felt a tight grip on her shoulder; Sasuke stared down at her, holding her fast.

"Don't even _think_ about going down there."

"I wouldn't...I don't want to get soaked," she said, jerking her shoulder away; he pulled his hand back and it went into his pocket and he glared down at her.

And then, headfirst, Sakura threw herself in, disappearing under the now black surface.

"_How many times have I told you nothing good would come out of this?"_

"_Just shut up, shut up, shut up–"_

"_You can't tell me after _all this time_ you still love him? After all he's done to you, after the way he's treated you like nothing but a disgusting wad of gum on the bottom of his sandal, you gave up on someone that would have done anything for you, just to gain some of his attention?"_

"_It's not attention, mom...I love him..."_

"_If you say that word again one more time, I'm going to slap you! I can't stand to watch you kill yourself and tear yourself apart for that traitor that would watch you bleed to death and not even blink an eye!"_

"_That's not true...he'd never hurt me that way..."_

"_Sakura, he left you on a park bench! What does that tell you?"_

"_If he didn't care...he would have killed me...he said 'thank you'...when he comes back–"_

"_I am not letting you see him anymore...can't you see what me, Kakashi, Naruto, everybody that cares about you, have been trying to beat into your stubborn head, god, Sakura?"_

"_You're all wrong, then."_ _She kept her voice level and her mother, her sweet down to earth mother was soon losing her temper for the first time. _

"_We're all _wrong_?"_

"_That's right, wrong. And he came home last night! He has more loyalty than you will ever know."_

"_He turned his back on us. In my mind he's nothing but a traitor...no...you weren't thinking of bringing him tomorrow?" Her mother's voice was a deadly hiss that dared her to say the answer. _

_Sakura nodded and her mother burst into tears._

"_It's my Christmas...and if I want him there, he's going to be there." There was no room for argument in her voice, and her mother shook her head sadly and turned her back on her daughter. _

"_God, Sakura..." Her mother wrung her hands in distress and misunderstanding. "What about...Lee?"_

"_It's difficult to explain..."_

"_He loves you so much," her mother told her, still shaking her head._

"_Well as cruel as this sounds, I do not love him...at least...not anymore. I cannot be with him for the sake of being happy the easy way. I want closure but I do not deserve that. He understood that when I told him, why can't you?"_

_Her mother frowned and looked at the ground, one hand grasping her opposite upper arm. "I guess...I can't really tell you what to do, can I?"_

_Sakura did not answer. Despite the fact she had won her mother was upset...broken. _

"_I don't care anymore."_

_Her mother walked toward the house._

* * *

"Heartbeat quickening–steadily rising!" 

"Breathing–he's hyperventilating–"

It was a blur.

The smell of disinfectant, herbs...the sound of clinking tools, other children huddled with another and under blankets, sobbing, but all eyes were on the last bed near the window, where the orderlies gathered. Some were observing, being new, others doing all they could, two holding the small boy to the sheets as he writhed and twisted, swinging wildly and screaming, combining with the screams of the other little children. The heart machine was sounding incessantly; the girl in the next bed screwed up her eyes against the piercing sound and hid her face in her knees, rocking. Kami and her friend were perched on the edge of Kami's bed, stunned.

"Fever spiking!" Tsunade snapped; the babble of frightened nurses chattered underneath her orders, and one apprentice stood by the window with a clipboard in hand, frozen with a pen in her fingers.

Iruka opened the door, Kakashi on his heels, Kurenai finally coming in and staying close behind Kakashi to stay out of the way.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked the frozen woman, who had an expression of shock on her face. She did not respond.

"He suddenly went into a seizure," Iruka explained hastily, watching the dark-haired boy writhe and twist on the sheets as if dancing, a puppet pulled by strings.

"One hundred six," one of the experienced nurses recited. Tsunade was livid.

"It was one hundred 4 about five seconds ago!"

The nurse did not respond.

Kami grabbed her friends arm and dug her nails into the girl's tan skin, frightened. Kurenai backed up and put the back of her head on the cool class window. The apprentice with the clipboard twitched next to her.

"One hundred seven point five," the same nurse said in a level voice, while the fair apprentice by the window seemed to sway. She had been observing the happenings of an infirmary...she'd gotten her wish.

"Bring it down, or he's gone," Tsunade said, while Kami and her friend watched with round, fearful eyes that had long been full of tears.

It was no use...one small fist slammed with adrenaline-based strength into the jaw of Tsunade, who was still holding him down; her lip swelled immediately and she sucked the blood off it and continued to hold him, still shouting orders...but the line was spiking...

And the dark-haired boy abruptly stopped struggling and hung pathetically on the arm of Tsunade, who was holding him up easily; Kami scrambled to cover her friend's eyes and then shut her own; he kneeled over her arm, his face bloodless for a reason, since a second later his chest shook violently as all the blood he seemed to possess exploded from his mouth and onto the faces of every nurse, Kurenai, even the fair woman, whose eyes rolled into her head; Iruka caught her and the little boy gave one last shudder, slipping off Tsunade's arm...and as his head hit the pillow, the piercing machine pronounced him dead, it's echoing chime of death leaving a lasting impression.

Time was frozen; children were silenced, their breath stolen by the reaper that had swept in and out, stealing the little boy's life so quickly. Kurenai's hand shook violently as she raised it to her cheek and wiped the crimson drops from her skin, her mouth slightly open, Kakashi was still as a statue.

"He's gone," Tsunade said simply, stepping away from the bed, her face drenched in his blood. Seeing her secretary limp, she put out a hand and Kakashi silently took the clipboard and handed it to her. Pen in bloody hand she poised it over the paper, waiting. "Name?"

There was a silence.

"He...had no name."

Another silence.

Kami and her friend resumed their game as if nothing had happened.

"Go fish."

* * *

_Pretty colors..._

_They dance around me and they really are amazing...I'm surrounded by the darkness, which, incidentally, isn't as bad as I expected it. The others float around me...the dead float around me...but somehow it's not as scary as I thought it would be either...look, I see Neji...he's waving happily to me, as is Chouji...poor boy...and Kiba too, well what do you know? They're all so happy and I wonder why, because certainly this isn't a place to be happy, what with the dancing candlelight shadows, the awful smell and the blank darkness...red and dark green, like dripping swamp water...and blue, the dark, vibrant blue shade of fire..._

_I miss you all so much..._

_But now the colors are leaving...oh god, I want them back, though, they're so pretty, so pretty..._

_Is that my mom? _

_Mom?!_

_It _is_ her...right here, reaching her pale fingertips out to touch me...she was always a housewife, always gentle...her hands were always soft and I remember they were even when she reached, in the rain, for me that last time when I ran away from her and never went back...and even though I never said it...I was so sorry for that–_

_CHRIST!_

_Stop hitting me!_

"Back up, let her breathe!" Sasuke sent his intense glare all around the circle and the rest backed up, warily. He stared down at her, pale, soaked and limp, and snapped again, making all in the vicinity jump, "Would you all fucking _back up?" _

"Sasuke, you need to stop!" Naruto snapped, his bright eyes flashing. "Yelling isn't going to do anything to help her!"

"The hell it won't," Sasuke replied and he pulled her off the ground to a flopping sitting position and shook her. "Why the _hell _did you do that?" He seemed to be talking to her; her head fell on her shoulder.

"I think he's lost it," Ino muttered.

"You have to get her to _breathe_ first!" Naruto said, grabbing Sasuke's arm and indicating her chest, which was not moving.

"I _know_ that," Sasuke huffed, and for a moment he held her at arm's length, watching the water drip down her pale face and his mind was racing...

"What do I do?" he muttered, talking more to himself than the others, who still were crowded around.

_I hope this works._

"Sasuke-" Naruto began, but his mouth had stopped working, as Sasuke cradled an arm behind her head and crashed his lips against Sakura's without a second thought.

And for a moment the atmosphere was extremely tense; Naruto was temporarily stunned, as was Hinata, Ino and Shikamaru shared their blinking look of amazement, Tenten mouthed 'Wow' and Lee was dangerously silent. And while Naruto was now 18, he was still a kid at heart, if not a bit immature. He looked away, making a face.

Sakura's chest rose and fell.

"Now _breathe_, damn it!" Sasuke yelled. He pulled away roughly, pulling her head away by a handful of her hair and Sakura jerked to life, coughing and sputtering and shaking.

"Sakura!" Naruto cried, relieved, and the group stopped holding it's breath; Sasuke held her at arm's length, watching her sputter and shiver and blink the water out of her vision and it seemed to take her a minute to realize where she was.

"Don't hit me," she muttered, still dripping and shaking, clinging to Sasuke, who peeled her off and stared her in the face, livid, shaking her violently by the shoulders; her head jerked forward and back.

"Why did you jump in there after I told you NOT TO?"

"I didn't_ jump_," Sakura snapped, coughing up a bit more water and swallowing...she licked her lips a few times, tasting him, _god, was that good,_ before continuing. "Something...someone...pulled me in there."

"There was no one in there," Sasuke retorted, giving her a look as though she were thoroughly insane.

Another awkward silence fell, in which both realized what had just happened and Sakura was so torn...berating him for even daring to kiss her or trying to communicate the strangeness of what she had just seen in the depths of that river.

"You weren't in there, you wouldn't know...I saw...darkness...and people and Neji!" Sakura said, turning around to look at Tenten with wide eyes. "I...saw Neji," she told her, and Tenten swallowed and put her closed fists under her chin, not daring to believe it.

"And I saw...my mom..." Sakura said quietly and fleeting looks jumped from ninja to ninja, for they all knew the story about how her mother and her did not talk.

"And you're trying to tell me the _water_ made you see all of this?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"Yes, damn it!" Sakura snapped, enraged that he was mocking her and obviously not believing her. It made her so angry when he treated her like she was stupid, like she didn't understand.

Sasuke shook his head and Sakura groaned and punched him in the chest, intending to hurt, but he caught her wrist.

"Why are you acting this way?" he hissed.

"You don't believe me," she said in a low voice.

"Do you think any of_ them_ believe it?" he asked, gesturing to their friends around them.

"You asshole, you don't believe me!" she repeated, standing up and standing over the riverbank, still staring into the crystal clear water that had just before been a tangle of memories, intending to torture.

Sasuke grabbed her shoulder and she spun around half-way to be greeted by his angry face. "There is nothing in there, Sakura, can you not see that the water is clear?"

"That doesn't mean anything!" Sakura shrieked, eyes burning with tears. "Not a thing."

"You, are, wrong," Sasuke said to her, still holding her shoulders and saying it slowly as if she were mentally retarded, as though she was a patient in the insane asylum. Her behavior was worrying him greatly but there was no way...not when it was impossible, with his own eyes he knew that the water was clear. There couldn't be anything in there.

Eyes wide with panic, Sakura looked around at the rest of them; they were hovering, calculating, somewhere in their mind they were struggling to not believe such a thing, trying to look at her as if she were crazy...but with all that had happened, was it so strange? The thought of them not taking her seriously irked her so much she turned back to Sasuke, who was still staring at her calmly as though this were just a nightmare, as if she were a little girl frightened by the dark.

"_I'm_ wrong, huh?Do_ you_ wanna go in there? _You_ want to see what _I_ just had to see? **Be my guest!**" she screamed, and without warning took him by the shirt; that powerful blue chakra was hyping her strength; she shoved him in without a word and he uttered a coarse insult toward her (but he didn't try to stop her) before he plunged beneath the surface; her face contorted so frighteningly livid, while the rest were in a semi-circle of silent shock behind her.

A minute passed.

He didn't resurface.

* * *

Outside was still hell. 

Bloody clouds still hovered, thick and frighteningly ominous over Kohona and out came storm shutters as many braved the gale to put them on. Trees had been felled by the dangerous winds and clotheslines were being rolled in from windows, and those that kept chairs and such on their porch were now losing whatever had not been brought inside in time. Most still had power, but not a soul dared to peer around the curtains or through a slit in the shutters to see outside.

The main buildings were quiet, boarded up and dark as well: Few roamed the hallways and most stayed shut up in their offices since no one had been allowed to leave, others worked diligently behind closed and locked doors for their own jobs. Small groups of children gathered here and there, clinging to one another and staring around with round, fearful eyes, little minds scarred from terror; they had not been allowed to leave, and they were trying the best they could to contact worried parents. Lights flickered overhead in the dead corridors and a steady murmur hummed beneath, bringing comfort yet the slightly nervous feeling as if someone constantly loomed over your unsuspecting shoulder; moving when you moved, breathing when you breathed.

Quiet footsteps from sandals were the only indication that someone was roaming where most were not.

"Needles?"

Seriousness was etched on the jounin's face in such a very disheartening way. His gray-haired companion nodded as his footsteps stayed in time.

"They weren't normal needles...much bigger, much more powerful, yet light and able to cut through skin as if cutting through air."

Gai involuntarily shuddered and lowered his head, staring down at his folded arms and watching the flickering lights cast dancing shadows across the wooden floor.

"Judging by this...it would make sense for them to go through cleanly, in and out, severing the tendons and maybe bones in a small enough ankle as it went. Instead it was the opposite; each one lodged itself in a place where it would the most painful to remove it. As we haven't put any of the children under anesthetic or attempted surgery, we can't say for sure if we should or can remove them. All of them have lost ability to bend, feel, or support weight on the leg, but only because it hit one spot to knock the weakest specific bone, muscle or tendon for each individual victim. And symptoms are too varied and might not even be caused by the injury at all. Numbness was only caused by lack of movement, which is expected."

Gai did not respond to Kakashi's explanation; truthfully, it was not spoken to his partner, only to himself to hopefully trigger something to help him understand why.

"How many...?"

"So far only one...he was unstable from the start. Most are in good spirits despite–"

He stopped abruptly before walking past the doorway of the dark room, the only room that had the door left open. A quiet snuffling was heard and Kakashi stood over the threshold, peering in the darkness to see who was in there, but he did not say a word. Quietly sweeping his finger over the switch, light dazzled his gaze and he blinked a couple times to clear the shock of colors; it was only Kurenai, asleep on the couch with her arm over her face to keep the light away...most likely people had been awake and busy when she decided to rest. She groaned and shook her head a bit; Kakashi immediately turned off the switch and stood there for a moment, watching her silently and intensely.

Turning away, he shut the door without a sound and continued down the hallway, Gai now watching him closely.

"Hm."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his colleague in response.

Eventually their footsteps carried them to the infirmary; the children looked up fearfully at the two towering jounin when they entered, the ones who were awake, at least; Kami and her blonde friend ignored him and continued to play their game of Go Fish, ignoring the girl in the bed next to them who was coughing violently, face sallow and bloodless, blood and mucus swirling in her throat and she was struggling to sit herself up. Catching Kakashi's eye, the little girl began to cry.

"I wanna go home...please! Take me home! I don't want to stay here!" she cried, sniveling and lip trembling. Her round, vibrant chocolate brown eyes were pleading with someone she didn't know to take her to die among her loved ones.

"_PLEASE_!" she shrieked, dragging her broken feet behind her and struggling to sit herself up; her hips jerked and twisted and she raised herself on one knee and a nurse squawked and began to rush to the bed; Gai was still standing with one hand on the doorknob.

"Ple-e-ease," the girl whimpered, before losing her balance and will and letting her body weight carry her over the side of the bed; the nurse's clicking heels echoed on the tile but she was too late and didn't arrive to catch the dead weight that was now sprawled on the floor, face down, motionless. The little blonde still playing with Kami stared at the girl now being turned over by a flock of nurses, but Kami barely glanced and placed another match next to her.

Gai and Kakashi slowly backed out of the infirmary, shutting the door silently behind them, and walked down the hallway, not speaking a single word.

* * *

_Ignoring it was less painful than bringing it up._

_But the hardest things must be faced, not supressed._


	12. Those Loathing Impulses

_So much for making this into 2 chapters as originally planned . _**

* * *

**

**Chapter 12: Those Loathing, Deadly Impulses**

"Damn."

Too easy...just too_ terribly_ easy...but what did you expect in the slums, the filthiest part of town with the filthiest people to pick up?

High-pitched voices of rasped desire bade the man goodnight as he stumbled over the threshold; not drunk by any means, no, for the heavily made up blonde on one arm and the redhead on the other clung to him, their need of stability greater than his. One pouting young female hung out of the window where light fell across the ground, full lips twisted in a devilish smile that could mean one of two things; that she was not all she was sought out to be, or maybe just because she was stupid and did not want to appear that way. Either way, her sparkling green eyes followed the trio as they swayed and made their way down the street, him laughing and each woman on his arm simpering and walking as though they possessed two left feet. As they made their way around the corner and out of her sight, she smirked and swept the back of her hand over her naturally full lips.

"Mmm," the blonde woman groaned as she tripped over her own feet yet again and let her weight off her stilettos and onto the man in the middle supporting her; a look of distaste flitted across his face but it disappeared quickly. Who was he to make faces at the tramp _he_ had decided to pick up? Course, he had always been this way; exceptionally handsome with a sort of rebellious innocence, if that was possible, that seemed to fool most and they would never believe the jealous intentions he stooped to just to get back at his sneaking, cock-sucking tease that he called his (trophy) wife. Some still didn't, but this scene would and hopefully would trigger _something_ in the cerebellum to make them realize it was so. Home now, she would gasp and scream beneath the sheets that she made up every day with some dirtbag she'd lower herself to just to prove she didn't need him, just to _prove_. But he couldn't dwell on it now, since he would never admit to himself he was the ultimate hypocrite, and so this went on until they took a leisurely vacation to some remote place where no one could call them, only to "break up" for the month.

As he let the blonde slide down to the concrete, watching her retch and kneel over, he realized what a new low he had reached.

"What a new low you've reached," a voice told him, almost as taunting as the one in his conscious that he nearly never listened to anymore. Startled, the redhead now clutched his arm in terror; so much for the sexual demeanor and the quiet whispers of just a moment before that the man had been enjoying somewhat. Scowling and ignoring the blonde, still retching and decorating the concrete with the contents of her stomach, which was nothing but liquor, the man's eyes narrowed and searched the deserted street in front of him. He was an exceptional Shinobi of extremely high status that was not listed in _any_ book and would never be, nor would his companions; this was the first time in this country anyway. Vaguely he wondered where the others were right now; the men exploring the bars and what the opposite sex had to offer while the women of the group did the same in different ways. Come morning half of them would realize that the little woman shaking her ass under the glow of the streetlight was his best friend's wife. Except for a few, those chaste little–

"Give her here," the taunting voice said, now sounding a bit closer. The first man was puzzled.

"Hm?"

The streetlight cast a round orb of white a few feet ahead, where the shrouded voice from no one now had a body, a tall body in an overcoat that left so many questions, black as the night behind him and shining top hat lowered over one eye. The clinking of gold echoed in the silence gently although he was not moving. The first man let out a husky chuckle and the redhead's eyes were wide as saucers, blue eyes dimmed and her face seemed to fold upon itself, the freckles across her nose migrating closer together.

"I'll make sure she gets home," the unknown figure said, and the woman, now acting and seeming more like a young girl, shrank behind the foreigner. His voice was everything but frightening; on the contrary it was light and pleasant and sounded much more comforting than the man who now held her fast.

"There's plenty up the road," he said harshly, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder as if hitchhiking.

"Sadly, I have morals. While I kill, I kill honorably, unlike _some_ of my betters. You, however, are just a dirtbag with a great deal of insecurities. But you have been unrecorded for years now. Eluding capture. I respect that." The cloaked man did not even smile underneath his disguise, despite the fact that the foreigner opened his mouth, closed it, and now looked a bit flustered. "So let her go."

The moment his grip was loosened and his mind unsuspecting given he had suffered a few insults, the redhead wrenched her arm from the foreigner and gave him a frightened look as though she had been electrocuted. Typically, she was trying to play the part of a confused woman, but it didn't fool either man: The cloaked one surveyed her with one eye with only the emotion of disgust, while the foreigner jerked his head irritably, telling her to get going.

"Uhhuh," the blonde croaked, putting out a hand for her friend to help her; in a vindictive act of offense the redhead turned on her tottering heels and stalked off, muttering something about being drunk off your ass, brushing past the taller, cloaked man in subtle thanks. The blonde waited until the clicking was receding into the distance before pulling herself up off the concrete, swaying and now carrying her shoes, stumbled off after her.

"Come," said the stranger, beckoning to the foreigner, and they both walked slowly toward a tavern, ignoring the crickets chirping and other sounds from the houses around them.

The bar was dimly lit and only semi-crowded; most heads were too heavy and besotted to turn and satisfy human curiosity when they crossed the threshold. A table in the very back corner was their seat in the shadows, and the tall stranger ordered drinks for both, setting the rules without further questions.

"Which one are you?" the stranger asked, removing his hat to reveal dark brown, tousled locks of a man barely older than 24 or so; his headband glinted in the dim light to show a deep and frenzied slash across the symbol of the Hidden Leaf Village that had once been loyal to. His companion's gaze now rested upon the betrayal etched on his attire.

"I should be asking_ you_ that question."

"I already know who you are. Where is your _lovely_ wife tonight?" Inquired the brown-haired stranger, gently, almost daintily taking a draught of his drink. "I'm joking," he added good-naturedly when his companion clenched his jaw. "I know quite enough of your personal life to satisfy colleague gossip. What I am here for is the final answer, not that you could back out now if you wanted."

The foreigner's black eyes glittered beneath equally black locks and he did not touch his drink. "I've already stated countless times that we're ready."

"Do you speak for all of them?"

"That I do."

"Have you been in contact with them in the past 48 hours?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," the foreigner lied easily, putting his lips to his drink and feigning a sip as not to draw attention to the fact he was completely suspicious. This was a dangerous business.

"Besides your wife?"

"_Enough_ about my wife."

A silence fell in which the only sounds that existed were heavy sighs and clinking glasses. Abruptly–

"Good, then, Itachi will be pleased."

The foreigner choked on his liquor; he had still been feigning thirst; and struggled to prevent a drop from sliding down his parched throat; eyes flashing and face red from coughing he slammed his mug down, not caring whether or not he caused a scene.

"Uchiha?"

"I highly _doubt_ I was referring to his mother," the brown-haired ninja said sarcastically, his cruel idea of a joke not humbling the man across him in the slightest.

"No one informed me that I was going to be involved with...those issues. That's a battle to fight all their own," the foreigner snapped angrily. "I was told my job was to–"

"Well, unfortunately, it's part of the deal too, so you'll just have to suck it up, won't you?" To further imply he was _still_ dictating the rules, he took a long draught of liquor and sighed contentedly.

"So he's my boss?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"I can hardly wait."

A muscle nearly twitched in the brown-haired man's temple, but did not seem to be noticed, thank god. He couldn't give himself away...not yet...

The waitress had come back to the table although neither man had finished their drinks; she set down two more mugs and her long, straight purple hair brushing against the foreigner's flushed cheek as she tossed her head dramatically when walking away. She giggled and surveyed him over her shoulder with a piercing, intense gaze before taking her place behind the counter.

"So you understand your job?" the tall man asked, his fingertips together on the wooden table as he tried to steer the focus back onto business.

The foreigner grinned a bit as he feigned yet another sip of liquor and boasted. "Of course I do. I haven't been told very much except that I have to attend this...what is it you called it?"

"I guess you could say a sort of...Homecoming," his companion replied. "Your underground organization is famous throughout the villainous side of the world anyway...I can't tell you how many people want to meet you and your traveling companions. That first step is a cover up for inside information. Then we will reveal more about taking down the Hidden Leaf Village from the inside out."

"Ah...sounds interesting."

"And you boast that you have eluded capture for decades, am I correct?"

The question seemed to startle the foreigner. "Yes..."

"Sorry to startle you...you'd be amazed if you realized how many doubted the stories–"

"They're not stories, it's all truth. Of course I don't usually travel. I tend to lay low. More important people on the run than me anyway. I just never stay long enough to get caught."

Another pause...then...

"Whatever happened to that...Sannin, was it? Orochimaru?" the foreigner asked. "Last I heard he was part of your organization."

"Killed," was his simple reply. "Found crawling around in the forests near an ocean town by Leaf Village ANBU officers already hanging on a few breaths. Apparently he was weak enough to the point where they carried him back to the headquarters of the Leaf Village, he was interrogated for about a minute before he died...and he was extraordinarily powerful...Itachi probably beat the shit out of him first, among some other powerful ninja...that would be the only way..."

"Wouldn't _you_ know?"

"Not necessarily."

There was a silence in which the foreigner snorted the words 'purple eyeliner'.

"He did have a affinity to femininity, didn't he?"

A quiet laugh in unity.

"Hm." The brown-haired man had lulled the other into a sense of security...something that you should never do.

"Hm?" the foreigner asked, and too slowly his hands placed themselves together as if preparing to make hand signs; falling into a trap too fast; the brown-haired man was gazing at a spot above his shoulder and the foreigner gave a start as he turned to find the waitress standing over him, smiling seductively.

_**SLAM!**_

The foreigner's body was thrown over the table and into the wall; the weapons, however, moved faster and roughly pinned his flesh to the wooden planks before he'd known what happened...the trail of blood was thick and bright and shimmering under the still dim lights. The waitress was grinning sickeningly as she slowly walked toward him and he struggled against the metal that had effectively gone all the way through; hung up by the chest.

"You're caught now," she whispered, while the brown-haired man gazed intently over the back of his chair; the others in the room were frozen, open-mouthed.

Swiftly she grasped his forearm and upper arm and

**_SNAP._**

The foreigner's broken elbow hung limply and he slumped a bit. She easily snapped the other one and then watched his weight strain against the weapons and eventually he slid to the floor, unconscious. The waitress watched him for a moment, then put her hand out.

"All clear."

"Damn it, Anko, you can't _kill_ him!" the brown-haired man burst out, rushing to her side and glaring at her. "There's going to be _hell_ to pay if he's dead."

"_Relax_," she told him, literally ripping her apron off and flipping her hair over, shaking it a bit before tying it back up in her spiked ponytail. "I said 'ALL CLEAR', you can move now!" she told the rest of the room; the ninja leapt from their seats and immediately stretched, removed disguises and laughed a bit. "If this is the first time he's been captured...that shouldn't have killed him."

"We've got him," Anko continued, speaking into the little black microphone that had been tucked up into her ear.

"Excellent," Tsunade said over the wire, "bring him in and the rest home."

"Just a question...who's interrogating this one? Straight to Ibiki?"

"Ahm...well...no," Tsunade said, a bit of hesitancy in her voice. Not nervousness...almost...pity. "A different ANBU squad brought home evidence that he was responsible for a certain murder within the Leaf Village limits and upon finding out a certain jounin decided to act right away and–"

"Who?" Anko snapped impatiently, biting her tongue almost immediately in regret.

"He was leading the mission to murder...Sakura Haruno's mother."

"Your apprentice's–?!"

"Yes."

There was a long silence...the gray-haired jounin that had been the young medic's teacher for so long...Anko winced.

"Fine, then...out."

Stowing the microphone in her pocket, she turned to the room; the foreigner was now supported by four ANBU officers, and the brown-haired man was looking at her curiously. "What's going on? I heard something about–"

"You don't wanna know..." Anko said quietly.

* * *

_Crimson..._

_The moon hovers brilliantly in the sky in all it's red glory...I'm so used to dreaming in blood now, and that's all I have to see...picking myself off the ground I stand and gaze over the treetops at this scene that is now so customary...My painful torturous nightmares over and over again...interrupted only when someone wakes me and finds me in such a state or I remember the pain and end up nearly suffocating out of fear..._

_Sorry, not fear..._

_The breeze flits across the tree tops that possess no foliage, only barren branches stained and dripping with blood..._my_ blood, my family's blood..._

_His blood...that traitor that is around here...somewhere._

"_I'm so sorry..."_

_An angel's whisper beckons me down the path where colored leaves swirl across in tantalizing circles to further lure me in. She haunts my dreams as much as my mother's voice..._

_My mother is important to me. They all were..._

"_Please, Sasuke...I'm sorry...I was angry and I never meant to hurt you..."_

_Still the haunting angel talks and cries and pleads in a panicked voice that would tear my heart in two should I ever possess a heart._

"_Are you happy now, damn it? I'm sitting here crying over you, are you fucking happy now?" She shrieks and her voice shakes so violently and the trees sway in time and freezing droplets of rain that shall not leak from the nonexistent clouds slap me in the face, chilling my already frozen soul._

"_HAPPY NOW?!"_

_Furious I swivel on the spot, trying to find her...she's got to be here, behind me, in my head, somewhere close...I have to find that angel...so I can take her in my arms and rip off her wings to carry her down with me...then I can beat her over the head with them...you stupid beautiful girl..._

_And then I hear her crying, still panicked and frantic and I somehow feel her touching me, but she's nowhere to seen...she's holding my cold body while I wander here, alone as ever in my mind...that I absolutely hate. _

"_Sasuke."_

_A different voice?! Surely not him...his whisper echoes across the desolate path and the leaves rustle and still all I hear is her whispers of apologies that she's waiting for me to accept when I awaken._

"_Get out," I hiss dangerously; he can't be near, he certainly can't be here...not by all of them...he'll kill them too, but why do I care?_

_Because. "Get out of here!"_

"_After spending so much precious time of your childhood waiting and training and fighting just to get a bit closer...you don't want to see me now?"_

_The silence that follows settles everywhere, for when he stops I still hear the angel crying so desperately..._

_If he hurts her..._

"_Get the fuck out...let– me– out."_

"_It's a sad day when one cannot control their own mind," Itachi said slowly, not visible, not present, not anywhere._

"_OUT!" I roar and I scoop up a stone and fling it, far, as far as it will go with every ounce of strength I possess...hopefully it hits him...the angel wails pathetically again as though her beautiful self was struck and a shiver runs down my spine... "Stop it!"_

"_I thought you had learned something from me...I thought you had learned not to care."_

"_I don't." I'm lying now._

"_Oh, but you do."_

_His final words are nothing more than a child's breath, a whisper as he retreats away only to return when I am vulnerable...that terrible necessary function of sleep. _

"Don't touch him! Don't anybody touch him!"

"But Sakura–"

"Oh god, Sasuke, I'm so sorry..."

Cradled in her less than powerful arms was where the Uchiha rested, limbs twitching occasionally in his fitful...sleep?

"You're stronger than this, damn you! You've done so much more, so you'd better wake up this instant because swallowing that little bit of water shouldn't leave you like this!" Sakura was struggling to shove little Sakura back into her mind, but it was just so difficult...inside out...now her mature, obnoxious side dominated and the emotional side was reduced to cowering in a corner sobbing...if only she could let herself cry. The others stood silent, frightened, puzzled. She had to deny...she was the one who'd thrown him in...

_Could he hate me any more? _

"How does it feel...to be wrong?" she whimpered, one single tear poised to fall on her bottom eyelashes but did not; trying to be so tough with nothing to back it up. There was only one time...well...two...that he had ever been this vulnerable, this broken and beaten down. The first was when he had received the curse mark in the Forest of Death, staring the extent of his fury full force; the second was when he had come limping home again after nearly three years of training, having disowned ties of the Hidden Leaf Village. Both times she had cried...this time she couldn't.

There was no breathing problems ailing the ninja, no, he was trying to find his way home. His fingers clenched and unclenched in pain, maybe frustration, but his hand wavered as he felt for hers. That call for help that she almost didn't dare give him. That she didn't give him.

_Come on...you're stronger than this! Wake up, damn it, wake up and glare at me, call me annoying and obnoxious, sneer at me, do something!_

Remembering that terrible moment, fleeting seconds when her heart had broken into the smallest pieces...that sliced your finger every time you touched them...that time when there was no such thing as a heartbeat and nothing else existed...watching his blood on that evil man's fangs dripping silently.

"Get out," Sasuke murmured, face contorted so angrily...so fiercely...

...so evil...

"Wake up!" Sakura said loudly, slapping his face a bit to revive him, perhaps a bit less gentle that she would have hoped; the man in her arms cried out in pain and squirmed away from her cradled hold–piercing onyx eyes opened and cut her with a million daggers and all she could do was sigh in relief.

"About time!" Naruto said, still looking concernedly at his friend; Sasuke sat up and immediately stood, brushing himself off dramatically as if the medic's touch was diseased.

"Are you–"

"Hn," he interrupted, jerking his head irritably to clear his vision of his sopping bangs.

"But Sasuke...are you..._really_ okay?" Sakura whispered, eyes wide and sparkling green and full of...tears. Sasuke blinked.

_So now she wants to be nice to me? Now she feels bad, after putting me through a little joyride of personal hell? How dare she cry over me...people don't pity me and they certainly don't cry over me. _

"So _now_ you care?" he snapped, the words tumbling off his lips before he'd considered that he might be discussing feelings. "Amazing timing," he spat, clenching his fist in pain; he was wet, shivering (although he was trying very hard to make himself stop), his head was throbbing and of course, his ever stubborn knee was experiencing sharp pains every so often. Now he had to sit here and listen to her snivel and hold back her tears and pity him? Not damn likely.

"Since when have _you_ ever cared whether _I_ cared about _you_?" Sakura now challenged him, in his face once more.

"I don't _care_ that you care that I don't care about you–me–but it doesn't matter because I don't need people to feel sorry for me!"

"Forgive me for it, then," Sakura hissed, shoving him away from her and stalking off up the river, to follow it as she said she would before; Naruto started after Sakura, but Sasuke shoved past him and swiftly picked Sakura up by the waist.

Screaming, Sakura beat his back with her fists while Naruto stood there, at a loss for words; Sasuke grinned sadistically as he shifted her more comfortably on his shoulder and sauntered toward the river.

"YOU'D BETTER PUT ME DOWN!" she screamed in his ear; he grimaced and Hinata ran to Naruto.

"N-Naruto!" she said hurriedly, tugging on his arm. "Do something..."

"But you don't care, right? Another little swim isn't going to _hurt_, right?" Sasuke laughed softly, her weapons pocket clinking against his cheek.

"Sasuke!" Ino shrieked, throwing herself at him and trying to pull Sakura away, who was still raining down obscenities on them all, and Tenten rushed forward to help, as did Hinata, who was extremely hesitant. But the vain efforts of them were not effective and Sakura stopped causing a scene and put on a determined face; she wasn't wasting technique and chakra on him. She'd play like he did; an animal. Grabbing a handful of his hair, she wrapped her legs around his chest and yanked–

The entire group went tumbling down backward on top of Sasuke in a mess of limbs and long hair (excluding Tenten's), Sakura kicking and screaming along with Ino, while Hinata tried to squirm out of the fray and Tenten was yelling over the hysterical cries to try to talk some sense into them; meanwhile Naruto, Shikamaru and Lee all stood and seemed very reluctant to offer any help.

"Shouldn't we...you know, do something?" Lee asked; neither male decided to answer.

"..."

"Well?"

"I'm not breaking up that catfight," Shikamaru drawled, tossing his long ponytail over his shoulder.

"It's not a catfight...Sasuke's in there...somewhere," Naruto added, wincing as a loud scream came from either Ino or Sakura; it was difficult to tell.

"What's your point?" Lee asked, rolling his eyes.

"Your stupid girlfriend just _punched_ Hinata!" Naruto yelled, pointing at the mass and scowling at Shikamaru, who shrugged.

"Hey, she's not punching _me_."

From within the mass Sasuke broke free and left the other girls on the ground; Sakura swayed sightly as she stood up, sporting a bloody lip and scratches, and stumbled; Sasuke swore as she threw herself upon him, fists swinging and eyes flashing, both rolling in the dust punching each other...yet Sakura used no chakra, which was her best offense, nor did Sasuke hit her as hard as he could...in fact, nowhere near the power he could have thrown at her. Tenten and Ino were up and back for more, not taken kindly to being beaten out, and Hinata had sunken to her knees, openmouthed at the sight.

"A little swim, right? You want to find out what's going on, don't you?" Sasuke taunted, picking Sakura up by the waist again; she writhed and twisted away from his grasp and stumbled back, furiously...smiling...

Locked in a vertical match of will, not power, they attempted to wrest the upper hand from the other by no other way that securing the other's limbs; dangerously close to the shore they struggled, and now Ino had Sakura around the waist and Tenten had Sasuke in the same way, both attempting to drag them away. Sakura fought and clawed at every inch of the Uchiha she could, while he instead fought away Tenten; her grip loosened and he threw an arm out that caught the brown-haired girl off balance and for seconds she was poised on the slippery grass, her expression furious...

But then the world stopped as it was slowly clear that she was really falling. Sasuke grimaced at his mistake and Sakura gasped; they locked eyes and tore each other up in hate and guilt, still not realizing...Hinata squeaked and Naruto ran forward toward Tenten, who put out her arms to try to regain the balance she had so fatefully lost.

Tipping over...

And where she should have seen her own horrified expression, she saw Neji's pretentious face glaring back at her, streaked with ripples, her chocolate brown eyes lost in the pupil-less white.

* * *

A little wanderer...

Runny nose and bloodshot eyes, a rat's nest of brown locks and teddy bear falling apart, peppered with tears and holes where the stuffing runs out into clouds of long-lost happy memories onto the floor, where pale, twisted feet are dragged across.

Little broken feet that will never pitter-patter, only kick up the swish of crisp bedclothes against polished wood. The steady sound, the occasional sniffle of mucus back up into the nostrils that flare every so often, smelling the stench of his own blood...and one solitary cry, piteous notes calling for anyone to listen, anyone to care.

In the dark one remains, tall frame draped across the long couch where many a man have sat, breathing even as it could be while the unconscious is barraged with thoughts that are now memories...even the ones that brought happiness now symbolized pain.

Sweaty dirty fingers grasp the door and hold tightly as they can, supporting the entire weight of the young boy that claws with unevenly cut fingernails, bitten to the quick out of pure habit, turning the handle and falling face first onto the floor. Painful but not loud enough to awaken the mentally drained jounin, who does not react.

More cries and the sound of dead weight dragged across the floor once again...

"_No, they're not home right now...why?"_

_Silence blanketed yet ballooned...so close yet so unsure and unafraid of what could happen._

_Stars were the beautiful decorations that adorned the sky. Frightened, she said so._

"_Stars...beautiful..." Standing on the doorstep in the dark, the streetlights absent to cast light on the dark eyes that now stared at her incredulously, weight shifted nervously and an ominous breeze. Those two words fell off her lips and danced in the crisp air of looming autumn. _

"_Why do you talk about other beautiful things when you are-"_

"_Oh, don't say it," she murmured, cutting across such true admittance, burying an embarrassed and humbled face into soft folds of a color that slipped her mind now, for she was so focused on controlling herself..._

_Abruptly her head swivels to sense the sound of death looming behind...gentle fingers grasping her chin in a way that would steal her attention and keep it there; he murmurs so softly, and she was the only thing to him. _

"_I don't know...if I want you going home alone..."_

"_Ahh..." How else could she reply, his rough lips against her ear and his smell, that scintillating scent of smoke dancing around her...no one else could stand it and it nearly made her giddy...just like his touch..._

"_They're not home," he reminded again, quietly, only an invitation and not an implication. So shy she nearly cried...a trait she had buried deep within herself as to keep it away from her student, Hinata...why did she have to be this way, that's what she always asked herself..._

_Do it..._

_With an almost joyful whimper she drags him down to her, attaching her lips to his and painted fingernails grasping him as though falling, and oh, how was she just then. Only seconds it lasted, it was her invitation, outside her comfort zone and she had complied. Now she wanted him to take the reins and take her..._

_No more subtle hints and no more gentle whispers, and the wind picked up and swirled leaves across the path as all the time she'd spent dreaming came true in her mind in one cataclysmic–in only a good way–second. What a simple peck on the cheek and a compliment here and there, a gentle brush or a random outing to have her favorite food...it all came down to the kiss that he bestowed on her, proving it was so much more._

_No matter what the way of life entailed...they could love too._

_So slow and so gentle...he tastes her slowly and tenderly as if she were the only thing left standing on an earth that was now destroyed, perched atop a cliff to the point of no return; in both minds it was the utmost perfection. With equal passion she kisses him slowly and tenderly too, molding herself to him in bliss...pulling away is nothing but a quick moment in which they surface for breath and then resume; every time they pull away her tongue is burning with his taste and he breaths heavily on her lips, all the more passionate when they come back together._

_One time when they pull away she swallows and attempts to speak..._

"_I..."_

_So hesitant to say it because it may not last forever...but hell, how could she know at that moment? He says it for her, which seemed right at the time, but in the present would be even more difficult to stomach._

"_I love you." _

_Now there is no hesitation. _

"_And I love you." The reply that she could hold back no longer. _

_Silence._

"_I must go home now...I will be fine alone."_

"_Mmm," is his reply, and he leans down to kiss her once more, long and slow; she complies and when he pulls away, he brushes a strand of hair from her glowing face. _

"_What will we do tomorrow?" she asks abruptly and quietly, as if he held all the answers. He grins like a young boy...her heart melts...he lights a cigarette and takes a drag before answering. _

"_I guess we'll know tomorrow." _

_The devilish scent of smoke swirls around her and she inhales it; only she could love the poisonous smell so much. _

"_Goodnight," she whispers, placing one last kiss on his lips before turning around and staring at him; he leaned back easily against the pillar and took another drag, watching her expressionlessly; it was all in his eyes. Always where you had to look to find the truth. He shakes his head. _

"_What?" she asks, slightly worried._

"_I really didn't think that would ever happen...not with sort of lives we lead."_

_In spite of the painful truth in his words she smiles. "I didn't either."_

_She steps down onto the path and her heart swells within; she walks backwards, watching him watch her leave. Only when she is on the sidewalk does he appear in front of her again. The atmosphere is tense and ominous and he blocks her way, grasping her shoulders painfully. _

"_No," she snaps, pushing away._

"_You had a close relationship with him...you knew!"_

"_I didn't," she protests, struggling against his tight hold. _

_His face is now nothing but a grotesque mask of congealed blood; she screams and beats him away but he won't leave anymore...remains forever etched upon the inside of her skull, where she dwells in the twilight between sleep and not, wandering in what she lost. _

_The voices that ruined her life...sitting there and telling her about her future...or lack thereof._

"_I'm sorry, Kurenai, but...we regret to inform you that he did not have a pulse when we found him...he had been long gone before we arrived...his former students are under question...apparently they were out–"_

"_I don't understand!" she yells, still beating away the taunting face. _

"_He's DEAD."_

"_It's a lie...I saw him barely a few hours before..." _

"_I WANT MY MOTHER!"_

His face was now a child's, bloodless and tearstained, lip trembling snot running down, in her face and pathetically whining...

Kurenai screamed and jerked herself from her nightmare and sat up quickly, backing into the couch and staring down at the little boy who was huddled on the floor, startled.

"My god...who are _you_?" she asked, realizing he must have been from the infirmary...but what was he doing out?

"I want my mother...won't you please take me home?" he asked quietly, reaching out; she flinched as he struggled to stretch his little finger to wipe the one tear off her cheek.

Without even thinking of the consequences she swallowed and nodded her head, gathering his broken body in her arms and holding him close as if he were her own child; he put his head against her breast and gazed up at her with bloodshot eyes. "I don't wanna die here," he whispered, tugging on her shirt.

"You're not going to," she said firmly, glancing out the window; the rain had stopped but the clouds still hovered, a reminder. Don't let him down.

"Just tell me where you live and I'll take you there," she said, crossing to the door, ignoring the voice in her head telling her to stop. She wasn't supposed to do this, but how could she refuse this boy's last request? She had been too late to save the one person she cared about more than anything...surely she could help this little child, undeservingly struck down, life ending sooner than he deserved.

"I don't live far," he muttered, chewing on his thumbnail and coughing.

"Even better," she replied, leaving the door open as she set off down the hallway, trying to erase that last memory from her mind. Swiftly she walked through the lobby, cradling the little boy to her chest and not looking left or right.

"Excuse me, Miss?" a nurse asked, putting out a hand, but Kurenai ignored her and continued to walk. The nurse continued to protest but the jounin took no noticed and pushed open the door–

"Are–are you authorized to take that child, Miss?"

There was a heavy silence and Kurenai glared at the nurse over her shoulder; intimidated, the nurse seemed to shrink a bit behind her desk as the others remained sitting, silent also. Kurenai said only one word–

"_Missus_."

–and let the door shut behind her as she prowled out into the rain.

* * *

Tenten let out a cry and squeezed her eyes shut against the sight that in seconds she would be forced to see–

But she didn't.

Someone had a strong grip around her waist and held her fast, and when she opened her eyes, it was Lee. Holding her and placing his body in between to keep Sakura and Sasuke from fighting, he pulled her onto the shore and pushed her away, glaring at Sasuke, who only had eyes for the medic in front of him, who was breathing heavily and looked as though she might punch his face in.

"Lucky, huh?" Ino said, licking a bit of blood from her lip. Tenten looked over her shoulder and gazed at the water behind her.

"Yeah...lucky..." Putting a hand to her chest, she let her breathing fall into a steady rhythm and directed her attention to Naruto, who was standing by Lee, adding to the mediating; Lee still stood between them, inches from Sasuke's face.

"Look," Lee began, struggling to keep his face straight; what he wouldn't give to spit on the traitor's face right now and beat him to a worthless bloody pulp of his former self. "This fighting has got to stop."

"Who's fighting?" Sakura snapped, glaring at Sasuke, who folded his arms and tried to assume his natural 'I am better than you' pose; somehow it was tarnished from his violent shivers; he was freezing and so was Sakura.

"Hn." Sasuke coughed.

"We're following this river," Sakura said firmly, cutting across Lee's next words. "There is absolutely_ no_ way that we could just leave it."

"But it's dangerous!" Ino protested, keeping a firm grasp on Shikamaru's arm, while he yawned, apparently bored with the proceedings.

"Exactly," Sakura muttered, breaking her fierce glare to stare at the water once again. "There's a reason...it pulled me in for _some_ reason...I have to find out what. Even if I have to go–"

"You're not going alone!" Naruto, Ino, and Lee said in unison. Sasuke didn't have to speak; the look he was giving her was saying enough...he was very good at that.

"Fine then, I won't." Sakura pushed past Sasuke, picked her bag off the ground and started walking along the riverbank, toward the source. Sasuke rose no objections to this.

"So stubborn..." Lee mused, almost a compliment; Sasuke grunted maybe in agreement, maybe a 'shut up', it wasn't obvious.

"Wonder where she got _that_ from," Ino said loudly, giving the Uchiha a dirty glare before dragging Shikamaru along after her friend, keeping him away from the water.

"She's right," Tenten said quietly, nodding her head slowly to the invisible beat, as if a puppeteer controlled her physical actions; her eyes weren't looking at anything...Lee watched her for a tense moment, but she looked up and blinked a few times, then hurried ahead; Sakura was now talking to Naruto.

"Naruto," Sakura whispered hurriedly, "go lead the others..."

"But–"

"Look, just do it, please, I'll catch up, don't you worry."

"We can't separate, Sakura, it's too dangerous," Naruto said flatly, concerned. Sakura sighed and glanced over her shoulder; Sasuke was lifting his bag onto his back, still shivering and cursing.

"We won't...give me a minute..."

"He's such an idiot, that guy," Naruto said, half serious half taunting his best friend and oldest rival. Sakura turned around, her back to Naruto, and gazed fondly, yet pityingly at the stubborn man still gathering his things and trying to prove he wasn't freezing; she sighed.

"Yeah, well...he's my–_our_, idiot," she corrected, laughing a bit to further disguise her mistake, and she shook her head and waved Naruto away who obnoxiously, in turn, laughed at Sasuke. Naruto loudly ordered the group around while Sakura rummaged through her bag.

"Here," she said firmly, shaking out a thick blanket and without another word, wrapping it around Sasuke. He jerked away and she received a very cold glare indeed, and how it hurt; she snorted and repeated her gracious action, fighting back tears of rejection, to meet another deadly stare. Any other would have run, she only endured.

"You'll freeze to death, now stop acting stupid and take this," she ordered, pulling it tight around him as if he were a child.

_Sometimes he sure acts like one._

"Why are you being nice to me?" Sasuke snapped, letting the blanket fall to the dirt, eyes still narrowed. "Feeling bad now that you shoved me in some tainted water and put me through a little ride of hell?"

"What all did you see?" Sakura asked calmly, but inside she was twisting with curiosity.

"Nothing that would concern you," he retorted. Sakura scowled and picked the blanket off the ground yet another time and followed his gaze as she stood to her full height and wrapped it around him once more.

"I'll tell you what I saw."

"I don't _care_ what you saw."

"Was anything about your mother?"

That question knocked the wind out him; his eyes couldn't narrow any more without being mere slits of flashing onyx. He decided to ignore her and shoved past her, this time keeping himself wrapped; he had been freezing.

"Like the night before we left?" she pressed, following close behind him as he prowled away. "When I found you huddled up in the corner, crying and so frightened–"

"Shut up!" he hissed, whirling around and getting in her face. "Don't you ever talk about my _mother_, don't you ever talk about my _brother_, don't talk about my family or my past or _anything_ about me, because you don't fucking understand. You're so stupid, you never will..."

"You think that I can live each day remembering my mother's laugh...echoing in my fucking head until I want to scream? And every time I hear my father telling me how proud he was of me...or talking about how gifted his eldest child was, you think it's something I can just blow off? Then having to snivel and scream at that bastard's knees while he tells me how similar I am to him, that same man that killed anyone who ever mattered to me _without blinking an eye_? You think I can stomach that and push that all away and cater to your little goddamn fangirl needs? 'Oh Sasuke, be my boyfriend Sasuke, _I love you_ Sasuke, on and fucking on until I swear I could choke you!"

A shocked silence followed this pronouncement; Naruto and the others were only 100 feet away, pretending to carry conversations about the weather and other mundane aspects. Sakura swallowed.

"I'm sorry I didn't lost my childhood like you, Sasuke," she started, her voice a quiet whisper, "but the reason we don't understand is because you don't want people to know...you don't want to accept pity...you don't want to be close...to anybody–"

"WOULD YOU?!" he roared, grabbing her roughly by the front of her shirt and dragging her as close as he could; he stared deep into her vibrant jade eyes, wanting her to feel his pain, wanting her so badly to understand what he thought every night before he slept, what he had to endure every day of his life...

"Well I didn't have fun in there either," she continued, placing her hands over his fists that still held her fast. "I had to watch my mother tear herself apart for everything I've put into helping you...I don't even talk to her anymore. Now I lie awake at night and remember things about all the people that have left now...because Neji's dead. Kiba and Shino and Asuma are all dead. Chouji is dead. Is Ino still a screaming banshee? She misses her Sensei and her teammates! Tenten grieves over Neji! All I have of these people are memories, distant memories that echo in my head, and while I was not close with all of them...it hurts...just as much..."

Sasuke was silent, his grip loosening; all he could do was stare at this little girl that had once wept over his dead body, not even having an inkling of what death was; now she stared him down, telling him _her_ story, not the other way around...

"And you wanna know the worst part?" she asked, shaking violently; not a single tear had escaped her shining eyes. His demeanor was standoffish, yet his eyes told her to speak.

"I watched half of them die on the fucking operating table!"

Sasuke was silent; he opened his mouth, then closed it.

"Yep, that's me, the resident medic watching student after student _after student_ come in and DIE! Literally walked in and collapsed on the gurney and pretty much said 'thanks for digging my grave!'. It's painful enough to watch them come and go like ants in a colony, try being **ripped** from sleep and getting plopped in front of a waiting patient, and you rub the crust from your eyes and one of your old classmates keels over and _dies_ in your arms."

A single tear ran down her cheek. She remembered Kiba.

"You've shaken their hand before...and now their hand is cold."

Remembering that fateful night for the mission past Black Castle; one typically dark night when even the moon graced the depths of the forest and gave no light to those who paid dearly for their skills; those who crawled beneath the thrush and let their teammates to their deaths for the good of their villages...the few that had made it back reported their information directly and most died. Some were missing in action or reported killed in action, and some –like Neji–, had just never turned up.

And that information was keeping the Hidden Leaf Village on it's toes; there was no doubt that around the corner a new war was waiting. How they paid dearly for it.

"At least you had a mother."

Sakura's mouth fell open and her tears were held back for just a moment more of shock. How could he listen to this and still bring up a cruel thing to say?

"At least you had people that understood..."

"Sasuke, just stop beating yourself up and just accept the fact that no matter what you do to me, no matter what you say, no matter if you push me away and beat me into the dust..."

Sakura took his face in her hands and brushed the hair out of his face; slightly uncomfortable, he loosened his grip more on her shirt and his eyes seemed to soften as he stared at her eyes that still fought back tears.

"I will always be your friend. I will always be there for you to fall back on, should you ever find yourself feeling hopeless. And I will pity you if I _damn well_ please."

Her last snide remark brought him back; so much he wanted to say that was so dangerous to; he clenched his jaw and instead took back his hands, now cradling hers as she had done to him...he squeezed, with it exhaling and feeling her warm fingers in his.

_Actions_...his actions would always speak louder than his words.

"Hn." She didn't even need the acknowledgment; that one little squeeze had been just enough.

A shaky laugh; "You're freezing," she said, tugging the blanket and tucking it around his neck.

He shook his head and pulled it half off and awkwardly put it around her shoulders. "Neh."

"Sto-op," she whined playfully, trying to put it back around him. "If we must, we'll share."

"Hn."

Sakura molded herself to his side and, being shorter and the blanket around his strong shoulders, it was over her head. Head against his chest; he was still so cold.

"You're going to get sick," she muttered, shaking her head sadly.

Gently she tugged him forward but they still walked slowly underneath the homemade quilt...

Sasuke stuck his fingers through a hole and raised an eyebrow. "Hm."

Sakura realized what he had found and looked away, slightly ashamed. "Sue me...I can't really sew the best."

Sasuke grinned for only a second and chuckled quietly. "Stick to cooking."

"**TENTEN!**"

Sakura looked up and stared at the others far down the riverbank; Sasuke immediately took off running and she kept up with him until they were watching the scene unfold as they ran; Lee and Shikamaru were yelling at the brunette, who was fighting tooth and nail to get away from their strong holds; her lip was trembling and her eyes never left the edge of the riverbank.

"What's going on?" Sakura demanded, looking around; Naruto was standing in front of Hinata and Ino; Ino looked nearly as upset as Tenten did, twisting a long strand of blonde hair around her finger in an agitated way, while Hinata was simply frightened by Tenten's behavior.

"Let me GO!" the brunette shrieked, her normal levelheadedness so blatantly absent; she bit and tossed her head and kicked, not even trying for technique or effectiveness as she fought Lee away; Shikamaru received a black eye for his efforts and backed off.

"**Why'd you mention him**?" Lee snapped, rounding on Sakura, whose eyes widened in confusion. Sasuke immediately stepped forward, but she put her hand on his chest and he stepped back.

"I just said what I saw, Lee," she stated slowly and calmly, though her lip twitched as though she had much more to say.

"Don't mention him anymore, he's gone and it's bad enough that Tenten–"

"I'm not crazy, I understand that you're talking about me! He's not gone, Lee, you wouldn't know, okay? He's down there in the water and I know he is, he said my name and he's calling because he's trapped or hurt or–"

"See, Sakura? Putting ideas in her head like that," Lee snapped, still holding Tenten's arms behind her back with his powerful own.

"It wasn't ideas...I _did _see him," Sakura said quietly.

"It only shows people who have died!" Lee protested, speaking to Tenten now.

"No it doesn't!" Tenten shrieked again, sounding so unlike herself; the hysteria. Lee let her go and she crawled on her knees and grabbed Sakura and pulled herself up to stand, letting the medic support the weight. "Because then Sakura wouldn't have seen her mother! Right Sakura, you saw your mother and your mother isn't dead, tell him!"

So desperately...Sakura was horrified, utterly and truly horrified to see this girl falling apart into an abyss of 'what if's'...this girl that was always very levelheaded and steadfast, had been the one to calm Neji out of his fits of rage towards society, and now she was the opposite.

Despite how unstable she sounded...she was right.

Sakura nodded and Tenten pushed away from her and stumbled toward the riverbank again and looked in; all that was there was his sneering face that she missed so much. Lee threw Sakura another dirty look and picked Tenten up, literally, and threw her over his shoulder as Sasuke had done to Sakura earlier.

"YOU LET ME DOWN SO I CAN FIND HIM!"

"It's not Sakura's fault," Ino said defensively, though she glanced at Tenten warily.

Lee cried out and lowered Tenten to the ground, stunned, clutching his side: "Did you just _bite_ me?"

"Lee, you take one side, Hinata take the other. An emotional leg and one of strength; we're taking her up the river with us...we have to find out what is going on."

Naruto looked hesitant to let Hinata assist, but Hinata did as she was told and supported one side; Lee, still reluctant to follow the medic's orders, supported the other; Hinata was talking to Tenten in such a low voice that it was impossible to hear the words, and Lee held most of her weight and pulled them forward; Sakura looked almost frighteningly angry as she waved the rest on after them, her eyes fixed on the back of Lee's head. Sasuke chuckled, but it was stifled from an angry look from the pink-haired ninja.

"Keep walking, damn it!" Sakura snapped; they all jumped and sped up as they were told; Ino looked over shoulder and gave her best friend a worried look that was ignored; the stressed girl rubbed her temples and brought up the rear with Sasuke, who tugged on her a bit.

"Hn," he muttered, trying to keep her somewhat calm; it was much too late as Sakura jerked away shook her head.

"This isn't your fault," he muttered. It did nothing to soothe her panic; if this was only the beginning, she dreaded even thinking of what could possibly come...

* * *

"Is there a girl named 'Kami' here?" asked an impatient voice that effectively silenced the frightened children, permeating the tense atmosphere of the infirmary. 6 pairs of eyes were taking in Kakashi's tall frame and agitated look, not to mention his one seemingly lazy eye roving the room.

The pink-eyed girl raised her hand without fear, her other one holding her blonde friends forearm; Kakashi beckoned them forward and then realized his mistake; he walked slowly to the bed and sat on the edge.

"How many children are supposed to be in here?" he asked, knowing that this girl would have the answer.

"7," she said without hesitation. "We lost two last night. Why?"

"I've been told to help find the other one...a little boy, dragging a stuffed teddy around with him, in worse condition than both of you and a nagging wet cough."

"Ralph," she said instantly, "He is from the States, foreign. Real attached to his family, he is, and always has that bear."

"The States?" Kakashi asked, intrigued, but then shook his head to quell his own curiosities and continued. "He's missing."

"He went to go find someone...to take him home," the blonde piped up, head hung and fingers twisted around each other in her lap.

"Will you tell me the reason you did not stop him? Not that you are in trouble," Kakashi added hastily, for the girl's bright blue eyes were already full of tears that he wouldn't be able to stand.

But Kami answered for her:

"How could we stop him...he would not listen to our reasoning...and in the end, he knows he will die anyway, we all will, both of us and even the ones who are in good health now...why make him wait out his last days in a hospital in a country that is still new to him with people he does not know?"

The blonde nodded in agreement, silent and ashamed.

"But who would comply to take him home? A nurse or medic wouldn't–"

A nurse burst into the infirmary, face red and hair flying; the look on her face was frightened, but the shaking anger and fear in her voice echoed in the room:

"**WHERE IS KURENAI**?"

Kakashi looked at her in confusion and left the bedside and took the nurse into the hall as not to scream in front of the children.

"Pardon?"

"Kurenai, Yuhi, a high-level jounin, usually seen with Asuma?"

"Asuma is dead," Kakashi said harshly, but the nurse had more important things to worry about, and since she had probably watched many people come and go it did not matter. But to Kakashi it did, and despite the fact he, as a rule, prevented bringing personal feelings into play as much as he could help, it still hurt.

"Point is she walked right out the front doors of this hospital with a child in her arms that was hanging on for his life! Scared my nurses half to death and now they're gone!"

"And your nurses didn't stop her because...?" Kakashi asked, folding his arms.

"You know her? Bring her back...before the officers do, because either way she's going to be in hot water when she next shows her face around here."

The back of the nurse's neck was beet red as she stalked off, lashing out at a passing apprentice, who squawked and dropped her notes all over the tiled floor, uttering a hurried apology.

"Kakashi," someone called from down the hall; it was Gai running toward him.

"They've got him," he said, slightly out of breath. "He's in the interrogation room right now."

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "I need 20 minutes."

"They wanted you to–"

"_I need 20 minutes_," he repeated, placing his fingertips together and closing his eyes. "You can even time me if you like."

He disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

"DID YOU LEAVE THAT MESS THERE?!"

Gai winced and darted down a hallway, eager to escape the angry medic's wrath.

* * *

_You'll never catch me...none of you will...no one can get me this time–_

"TENTEN!" Lee roared, voice strained in desperation. "STOP!"

_I hear the waves crashing on the shore, just like I did the last time I touched him, the last time I held him, until he said..._

_To go..._

_And leave him there._

_But you weren't gone, were you? God no, **the** Neji Hyuga, dead? Never...I hear the waves crashing against the jagged rocks still, that little cliff I had to leave you on...you threw the scroll at me and told me to just take it and run...that it was too late but that was just a lie. You're down there, on a big rock, standing up there with the foam crashing behind you and waiting for me to come down and my face will light up when I see your adorable, pretentious sneer..._

"Tenten!" Lee yelled again, clawing at her shirt; she ran faster, shaking her head to clear his voice of reason from her head because he was yelling lies at her that were not true. Fingers clutched the hilt of her new favorite weapon that she had yet to use; the handleless scythe that smacked against her thigh as she sprinted toward that little cliff overlooking the see that was so similar to Black Castle it was scary...

_I'm coming for you._

The brunette skidded to a stop at the edge and peered over; that same swirling, eerily clear water swelled and retreated so many feet below, crashing against the jagged rocks that rose from within and pierced the air like knives, eager fingers waiting to grab anyone unsuspecting–Lee was only a few feet away when–

She whirled around and Hinata and Ino screamed as the flash of the blade caught the light and came down–

To rest mere centimeters from the tip of Lee's nose. He stared at the silver blade and then at her, shocked.

"Back up," she muttered dangerously, and he watched the muscles in her arms tense; the others were frozen in shock behind her; Sasuke held a firm grip on Sakura as if she were a kitten picked up by the scruff of her neck; she was straining to get away and...do something...anything to stop this...

"I said _back the fuck up!_" Tenten shrieked, lashing again; another wave of screams sounded as Lee stumbled back, sweeping a finger across his nose; only the very tip was bleeding. Her eyes never left his.

"More," she commanded; Lee slowly took steps back, and once he was near the others the rest of them moved back with him; Shikamaru tensed but Ino yanked him back, and Sasuke still held Sakura fast.

"No..." she whispered, still struggling against his strong hold.

"Good," Tenten hissed, so unlike herself.

"She's lost it...she's completely lost it," Ino whispered, her voice shaking.

"Now then," Tenten continued, turning back toward the perch; Shikamaru, Sakura, and Lee all leapt forward and were stopped in their tracks by an onslaught of needles that were mostly dodged; Sakura's kunai deflected them from her and Sasuke while Lee and Shikamaru dodged them, being faster.

"I'd stay there."

They stayed.

She turned and spoke to the violent sea.

"God Neji...all these past days and nights have been nothing but grieving over you. I've been interrogated and mentally tortured so they can find out where you have gone...I didn't have the heart to tell them that you had sent me and Hinata on to save ourselves while you stayed...I could have helped you but you didn't want me to...you weren't meant to die...just because I was scared and weak and I wasn't ready to die...well it's all going to be okay now, see? Because I've found you again...Guess you could say I've lost it. Normally I'm the one to bring you out of your fits of rage and calm everyone else but...not this time...Maybe I really have lost it..."

"Do something," Hinata whimpered to Naruto. He shook his head.

"What could I do?"

"I left you to die, Neji," Tenten whispered. "And now I will–"

"T-T-Tenten!" Hinata yelled, voice cracking as she raised it for the first time in a very long while; everybody stared as she shoved her way through her taller companions and now stood in the front, facing down Tenten's blade once again.

"Tenten," Hinata whispered, her voice trying to soothe, "It's not your fault...I was scared and weak too, he sent us to go on ahead...we would have probably died–"

"Better me than him," Tenten hissed, chocolate eyes dangerously vibrant and narrowed. Naruto stirred behind Hinata, ready to do something if need be.

"You don't understand, do you? Despite the fact that he was your brother, this hurts you much less than it hurts me. So back up and let me be...let me get him back," Tenten added.

Hinata did not back up, but the meek voice that always struggled to be heard had been silenced. Tenten turned away and faced the drop-off again.

"I left you to die, Neji," she repeated, beginning to shake–

"Please no, no no no," Sakura said, now fighting tooth and nail to break the Uchiha's hold; he wasn't speaking, just preventing her from going.

"And now," Tenten continued, her voice nothing but a whisper–in the silence Lee roared 'NO!' and Sakura sent a burst of chakra through Sasuke's body that left him gasping; Sakura shoved past Ino and Lee was already ahead of her. Tenten took a deep breath, poised on the edge:

"I will come find you."

Slow motion took it's deadly toll as she threw her scythe into the air and put her arms out as if on a balance beam; gently tipping, she let herself pitch over the edge as her weapon came down; Lee was still running as was Sakura, but the latter noticed the blade coming down...Tenten disappeared over the edge and Sakura barely pulled Lee back in time before he was effectively skewered by the heavy blade that landed inches in front of him, it's point stuck fast in the ground.

Lee elbowed the medic back and ran to the edge and looked down...

And there was nothing but the churning, violent sea, it's foamy white waves disguising the little splash of a ninja fallen.

"**_TENTEN!_**"

* * *

Oohk...that was long...pardon mistakes...there's always a couple even though I went through this chapter a million times and rewrote it over and over...whatever...

Oh by the way...the part with Asuma and Kurenai, if you didn't understand, she was sleeping and was reliving a memory that did happen...but when she turns to walk home and the other voices chime in it's turning into a nightmare...he didn't really get killed then or anything. Okay? Okay. Tenten was meant to flip out...she's not on a sugar high...she's terribly emotionally distressed...haha.

Sayonara


	13. And Even From The Inside

_I'm so happy to finally get this up... was giving everyone some annoying problems, I guess...my inbox was flooded overnight with all these updates that I thought I'd missed...scary thought._

_Ah...so many questions were raised from my last installment, neh?_

_Haha...and they're probably going to keep coming..._

_There might be a slight...a _**slight **_break for a few weeks until I have Christmas break and I have lots of time on my hands...but before Christmas I have a oneshot that I've started that was made intended for the holidays...although it's not terrible happy...which isn't the point, I guess...--mumbles to self-- Anyway, that's going to be my favorite couple --and if you don't know who that is...I don't know what you think you've been reading--check for a pulse and all...Shall be dubbed "Killing Pretty Ribbons". --squeals--Can't wait for it! Course it's not done but I'm working on it...sort of a freak about perfectionism. _

_:P Anyway ignore my rambling and go on to the actual chapter...these implications may surprise you...0.0_

**

* * *

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**Chapter 13: And Even From The Inside...**

The thunder masked the nagging cough of the little boy in Kurenai's arms as she sprinted down the cobblestones, occasionally whispering to ask directions; his breathing was becoming dangerously shallow and he clung to her tighter against the howling winds that were bringing forth even more rain...shutters were still hiding the occupants of Kohona from the evil that was slowly descending upon this tight-knit community, and even the wise men that normally sat on their front porches in rocking chairs were not out to brave this.

"Down this street...we're almost there," the boy told her; his voice was nothing but a rasped whisper that sent him into a painful sounding coughing fit; he licked the blood from the corner of his mouth and pressed his teddy bear between their chests.

Kurenai could not even keep her smile for him now, for if he died before she made it home, there was no way she would be able to step up the porch steps and present this poor dead corpse to his family. The wind was against her now and she struggled against, tears forming in her eyes from the chill, and forked lightening snaked across the sky–

Turning a corner she continued to walk against the wind, red hair flying like a beacon against the browns and neutral colors of the houses around her.

"That one," the boy told her, still coughing, burying his face into her chest; his wracking sickness shook her as she turned her face up to look at where he had pointed: A three story brown house with a tidy porch and a heavy brass knocker on the door that seemed to represent a family crest...the lights were on in every room of the house. She felt relieved.

And then disgusted and cold as the blood from his mouth splattered her shirt, seeping through. While it was warm it did nothing but give her chills...she ignored it and sped up, now jogging, cradling the boy's head and still fighting the wind...a gust brought freezing raindrops as large as buttons upon her and it shocked her so much she tripped on the first step of the porch–

Leaves hit her face and she fell into Kakashi's arms, the child between them still coughing blood onto her shirt.

"Kurenai–"

She shoved past him without a word and leapt for the brass knocker; hurriedly she slammed it over and over until a very short woman with a plump face, stained with tears and wrinkles of age, opened it and was stunned at the sight on her doorstep; two tall ninja drenched in rain (and in Kurenai's case, blood), one holding the pale sickly form of her grandson.

"Your son–" Kurenai began, but the woman nodded no, and corrected the jounin in a foreign tongue that she could not understand; panicked, Kurenai pointed to the boy and said, "Your son! Child! Very sick. Wants his mom, wants you," she said slow and clear, but loud against the roaring wind.

"My god!" a woman's voice said; a taller woman, bearing similar features but obviously fluent in English, hovered in the doorway to what seemed to be the kitchen, mouth open. She crossed the room quickly and stepped in front of the grandmother, whose eyes were full of panic and confusion, and snatched her child from Kurenai's arms.

"Get in here," she snapped, and Kakashi pushed Kurenai forward and shut the door behind them; they watched expressionlessly as the mother argued with the older woman in foreign tongues while the boy continued to cough and stain the carpet with dirt and crimson...eventually the mother tugged on Kurenai's sleeve with a bloody hand and stared up at her, dark eyes shining with tears. "What happened?"

"He was hurt...he asked me to bring him home to you...so I did..."

"How in the world did he get hurt? He was at school! Who did this to him?" she demanded, pulling harder on the female jounin and shaking her. "Shouldn't they treat him there?"

"He asked me to bring him home," Kurenai repeated quietly, swallowing; now that she had done this and all she was receiving was hate and accusations...she almost wished she hadn't done it.

"Couldn't _you_ do something?" she snapped, her face contorted with anger toward the world for doing this to her son.

Kakashi watched Kurenai, almost saying something but deciding against it. The mother continued to berate Kurenai for not doing enough; the grandmother put a hand on the mother's shoulder and was snapped at...Kurenai took this verbal beating for a few minutes, lips twitching, struggling not to speak, but enough was enough.

"I am NOT a miracle worker," she interjected loudly, voice shaking out of passionate anger that she was not usually forced to feel. "I just wanted to help the boy...no one deserves to die alone."

"To...die alone...but," the mother stuttered, looking down at her son; he was still clutching his teddy and coughing...his eyes opened and he screamed in pain.

"Pupils dilated," Kakashi murmured, and Kurenai twitched a bit, aware that she was still drenched in his blood.

After a few more coughs and sputters, the boy fell limp against his mother's chest and murmured...

"I get to see Daddy..."

He let out his last little breath and was silent.

"No, no no no, Ralph baby, no," his mother stammered, laying him on the floor and kneeling beside him, shaking and pale. "NO!"

Kurenai slapped a hand over her mouth and whimpered, then ran out into the rain.

"I am sorry," Kakashi said to no one in particular, since the mother was ignoring him. He locked eyes with the grandmother, who stepped forward slowly, and took the jounin's hands in hers and smiled sadly. The words she spoke were foreign, but Kakashi could understand.

The gray-haired man shut the door behind him and sighed; in the middle of the street, kneeling, with the rain pounding down on her back was Kurenai; her sobs were heard amidst the roars of thunder and the sound of water against the roof; puddles of red water swirled around her knees, cleaning the blood from her shirt, the little boy's blood that she felt responsible for. Cleansed. Kakashi walked down the steps and out to her, picking her gently off the ground and holding her to a standing position.

"Oh g-g-god...I...let him...if only I'd..."

"The grandmother thanked you. She...apologized for her daughter's behavior and thanked you," he said quietly, trying to make her stand on her own; she lowered her in head in shame of her tears...she hugged her arms around herself and turned around...Kakashi did the same so they stood back to back in the pouring rain, shaking.

"I have to go back and talk to a man who was captured," Kakashi told her. "But you can't come with me. So you need to stay out of sight until I finish...don't let anyone bring you in for questioning until I am with you, understand?"

Kurenai nodded and Kakashi watched her out of the corner of his eye.

A silence...

"Who was it?"

Kakashi stiffened and seemed to become angry; the heat radiated from his body and he made a quiet noise of dissent.

"One of the men from the group of foreigners...that we are using for the mission."

"Whose man?"

"Sasuke's."

"So he has to be kept alive until they get out of the compound?"

A pause.

"Exactly."

And–

"Did he...was he..."

"I am pretty sure he is the man responsible for Mrs. Haruno's murder...or at least a contributor to it."

Kurenai nodded again and placed her fingertips together; Kakashi did the same.

"Remember what I said...be careful and wait for me."

"I will."

The street was empty, only a swirling tornado of leaves left in it's place.

* * *

"What, the _hell_, did you _think_, you were _doing_?" Lee asked dangerously, staring out at the horizon with his left fist clenched; his knuckles cracked, and the others were not sure whom he was speaking to. But Sakura knew. She stood, brushed the dirt from her knees and waited for the onslaught she was about to endure...it did not matter whether pulling him back had saved his life; he was too angry to listen to the reasons. 

Lee looked at Sakura over his shoulder and for the first time in a very long time, fixed her with a glare that was not full of anger, not like Sasuke's, but etched with disappointment. His words hurt.

"_Is that why this is happening...all because he came back...did I mean that little to you, Sakura?"_

It was so difficult and he was fighting it...the mounting, passionate hate he felt towards her ever since things had gone downhill.

"If I hadn't pulled you back..." Sakura started, beginning to shake; Sasuke stared at her in disbelief; why was Lee upsetting her so quickly? She took much worse things from him on a daily basis, insults and curses and more, but one look from him was going to make her break down? Well _that_ wasn't fair. "You could have–"

"I would have made it," he interjected, now shaking also out of anger toward her, toward himself for letting his teammate plunge to her doom, toward everything in his life that had gone wrong...and especially toward Sasuke, for coming back and starting this irreversible chain reaction that ultimately had led to this.

"No, you wouldn't have–"

"Shut up," Lee hissed, so unlike himself; Sakura bit her lip and fell silent. Sasuke's mouth opened; again, she took that pathetic 'shut up' from him like that, when she would curse the Uchiha to a fiery, cavernous hell? He could scream and rage and she would not blink an eye...

They stared at each other, and to the others the story was a bit less known, but as they locked gazes they remembered...everything they had promised, everything they had said...things that had ended with not enough explanation to each others' standards. Little did Sasuke know how much his return meant and how much it had done.

"I want to know what you plan to do now," Lee said dangerously, stepping toward Sakura; Sasuke's eyes narrowed from his place a couple feet away, and he was just waiting for an excuse to pull a weapon on him, for the atmosphere was uneasy and somehow Lee's normally polite behavior was absent...

Abruptly Lee grabbed her shoulders and nearly picked her off the ground; Sasuke rushed forward but Sakura put out an arm to stop him and sniffled.

"You know that I never did it to hurt you...I did it _for_ you," she whispered, just letting him hold her off the ground; Sasuke watched him squeeze her arms tightly...too tightly to his picky standards when it came to who could do what to Sakura.

"How long had you been thinking about it before you told me?" Lee asked, sounding hurt and sad, like a little child, his grip loosening a bit.

"I just didn't want to confuse what I loved in you for closure and the closure that I sought...and still seek," she whispered quieter still, waving her hand to indicate Sasuke step back; this was their reconcile. He complied, clearly angry.

"He doesn't deserve you," Lee told her in a voice that no one else could hear, now wrapping his arms around her. "For all he's done...I will never understand why you put yourself through so much pain...that you shouldn't endure..."

"I believe it's the only way to help him," Sakura whispered in his ear, now attempting to stem the flow of tears.

"I still don't agree."

"Well I don't care," Sakura said, pulling away; Sasuke stood with his feet apart and weapon still in hand, almost numbly; what were they saying? Why were they hugging? "It's my life...let me do as I please."

Her words hit him like a shot in the chest, and Lee's face was now contorted in anger and here it came, the attack that Sasuke had almost hoped for so he had an excuse; Lee raised his hand and a fleeting thought passed through the ninjas' minds' as one; a slap. Although he wasn't going to follow through and didn't have the heart to ever strike her, Sakura cringed, Shikamaru muttered 'shit' under his breath and Sasuke swept past her so quickly...she felt him brush against her, the tiny reassurance, and slam into Lee. Sakura felt so terribly guilty as her breath was stolen away; god, was he fast.

Skidding across the dirt he let himself be shoved into the ground and did not get up right away, while Sakura looked on as silent as a mouse, so unusual for her.

"_Back off_," Sasuke hissed, his voice nothing more than the slice of a blade across skin; Lee stood up and faced the Uchiha headon, but Sakura ran forward and put herself between them.

"Stop," she said quietly, shooting Sasuke the glare she always reserved for his pretentious self. "There are more important things to worry about."

"She's right," Ino said, effectively ending the tension by stepping next to Sakura to calm the rising tempers; Ino herself looked a bit pale and her voice was less brash than usual. "We have to tell her what happened...how Tenten got so upset..."

Ino gestured for them all to follow: Beneath the branches of a large flowering tree they gathered in a circle, keeping ample space between Sasuke and Lee. Sakura sat between the former and Ino and Shikamaru and Naruto kept an eye on Lee, who was sulking and glowering.

A gentle wind blew and peace descended somewhat upon them, as did twirling flower petals that landed in the hair of those lucky enough to receive. Still pale, Ino brushed a few loose bangs out of her face and revealed her blue eyes that were already (or maybe still) tearing. The circle waited and listened intently, eyes fixed upon the soon to be speaker, and it took a bit of courage and painful memories to tell.

"Lee continued to press Tenten, to ask if she was okay after nearly falling in...truth be told she was pale and shaking and she hadn't even fallen in...of course she replied with a fake smile and lied...but she's been this way for the past couple months and it's only to be expected...I knew she had been interrogated about Neji, but I guess the extent had been...painful. I tried to change the subject, I could tell it was hurting her. We seized upon the subject of more death, somehow, despite the fact I wanted to get away from that...how people in the village seemed to be dropping like flies yet so uninformed about how bad things really are...she seemed so strangely interested in a way that I don't think was normal for her...and then it got personal...I remembered–"

Ino broke off, hanging her head to hide her tears, and Shikamaru watched his girlfriend with sorrow and remorse, jaw clenched.

"The night we came home...the night we found...Asuma dead. It reminded me of the guilt Tenten felt in a similar way...all those 'what if's...if we had come home just an hour earlier, if we hadn't gone out at all...only if...we'd done something that had kept us home..."

"_Careful, Ino!" Shikamaru snapped, catching her once again as she tripped over that same step; she always hit it, when getting the mail in bare feet, which had a stream of curses attached that woke up every other occupant in the house. Ino had her arms around him and was so exhausted that her eyes were closed as she struggled to keep her feet going, but eventually she let herself slide to the deck in fatigue and curled up like a child._

"_Come on," he said quietly, trying to coax her to get herself over the threshold; she whined and put her arms out. _

"_So troublesome...the things I do for you," he muttered to himself, but he gently lifted her from the doormat, easily holding her; sometimes her lack of 'meat' came in handy, and he smiled as he shoved the door open and proceeded to carry her bridal style._

_**SMACK!**_

"_OW!" she whined, punching him lightly in the chest. "That hurt..." She held her head that was now pounding from it's collision with the door frame._

"_Hush, or I'll make you walk up the stairs," he said, crossing to the couch, closing the door with his foot. Attempting to put her down with one arm he switched a lamp on with the other; Ino yanked him on top of her, eager for his touch. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but complied and let her kiss him long and slow, her fingers tugging on his long hair, wanting it out of it's ponytail. _

"_Yeah, you're real tired," Shikamaru laughed, before bending down to kiss her; she took the band from her hair that had been holding it into a bun and let her long blonde hair cascade over her shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him further onto her and into the couch. _

"_I got my second wind...got a problem?" _

"_Not at all," he murmured huskily, fingers untying the ninja headband from her waist and tossing it aside, then proceeding to pinch her love handles; she uttered a squeak and he earned a small slap that he laughed away._

"_Is that skin I feel?" he teased, squeezing a bit between his fingers once again. "That doesn't feel like a love handle to me."_

"_Shut up," she whined, lips twisted into a pout as she stared up at his dark eyes; one arm was working with the front of his vest while the other bent over the arm of the couch and shut off the lamp. _

"_Oh!" Ino squealed, and another gentle slap was heard, accompanied with giggles..."Is that you poking into my ass?"_

_Shikamaru chuckled. "You don't have an ass. You're really bony."_

"_Am not," she retorted, the end of her sentence a bit muffled in the dark. "Okay, that hurts!" _

"_Wuss," Shikamaru retorted, his voice still low and rumbling. _

"_Those don't feel like your fingers..."_

_Shikamaru huffed, leaned over her and turned the light back on; Ino held a small black box in her fingers. "I was sitting on this."_

_Shikamaru stared at it for a moment, then took it from her and gently turned it over in his fingers...and then it hit him._

"_My god..." he murmured, sitting on Ino's lap and looking at her; her face was alight and she hugged Shikamaru tightly; they tumbled off the couch and onto the floor, laughing._

"_You think he–?" Ino asked excitedly, while Shikamaru hushed her and opened it; there was no ring inside. Shikamaru grinned. _

"_I didn't think he'd do it–"_

"_He did he did he did!" Ino squealed. "Where do you think he is?"_

"_I bet he's out," Shikamaru said simply. "I'd certainly be."_

"_ASUMA! Where are you?" she yelled, running into the kitchen; "Come out or I'm gonna...steal your cigarettes or something! Come on out!"; Shikamaru stuck his head into the den:_

"_Hey, you home?" _

"_He's not in the kitchen or the dining room," Ino announced loudly; she stood on the bottom stair and yelled obnoxiously; "ASUMA, you lazy thing, you here?"_

"_You know, I don't smell his smoke," Shikamaru said, sniffing the air. "And I don't think he's home. He probably did it when we saw them going out to dinner earlier this evening."_

"_But wouldn't he have taken the box?" Ino asked._

"_Hm...yeah...they're probably just up...stairs..." Shikamaru suddenly looked uncomfortable, and an expression of dawning comprehension graced Ino's face. _

"_Glad we didn't stumble up there," Shikamaru muttered, and sat back down on the couch, still turning the box over in his fingers, intrigued._

"_How old is Asuma anyway, Shika?" Ino asked, sitting back on the couch and laying her head in his lap. Shikamaru shrugged, putting his arms behind his head. _

"_What does that matter? He's younger than Kakashi, anyway."_

"_Just wondering," Ino whispered, closing her eyes. Shikamaru toyed with a lock of her hair and listened carefully, but no sounds issued from the floor above..._

"_What's that?" Shikamaru whispered, his gaze catching a glint of light from the floor. Ino groaned and raised her tousled head to look in the direction he did. For a moment they both stared at it, then glanced at each other, and back at the object on the floor. And when he realized what was on it, Shikamaru's blood ran cold._

_He stood up quickly, letting Ino fall to the floor and knelt down, peering at the tiny gold object on the floor; it was the ring that belonged in the box...Ino gasped. "Look!"_

_In the moonlight cast on it through the window, blood shone ominously, staining the precious metal._

"_Oh no," Ino whimpered, looking up at Shikamaru. "You don't think something bad...she said no?"_

"_Come on!" he snapped, yanking her off the floor by her wrist and dragging her toward the stairs; hurriedly they took them two at a time and reached the top; Shikamaru ran in the bathroom and Ino, the bedroom._

"_He's not in there," they informed each other in unison, and desperate, they burst into the only other bedroom besides theirs._

"_Asuma?" Ino asked the silent bedroom fearfully, stepping over the threshold first; she tread carefully around the seemingly random objects that always littered the carpet; books and pictures and notes, unorganized and underfoot. The curtains were open letting silvery moonlight fall onto the bed, which was made and untouched, and the smell of smoke had permeated all that was in here, symbolizing the ownership. Together the two ninja checked the closet; nothing._

"_I don't like this," Ino whispered, shutting the door behind her and quickly hurrying into their bedroom; she yanked the curtains shut and sat on the edge of her bed and hugged herself to quell her sudden chills. "This isn't like him."_

"_Hey," Shikamaru said, sitting beside her, taking her chin into his fingers. "This is Asuma we're talking about. I'm sure he's just getting home a bit late, in fact, he's probably with Kurenai–"_

"_The blood on the ring that he meant to propose to her with tonight!" she interjected, tugging on his vest. "What is _that_?"_

"_I don't know," Shikamaru admitted, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her; she was still shaking. "He'll be fine."_

"_You're right," she said, laughing nervously and turning away. "He's probably just out with the other jounin or something, or with Kurenai, or Kakashi, or someone, who we can trust and he'll be home safe, of course he will!" She was babbling out of fear. "Watch, we'll find him downstairs asleep in his chair in the den with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, with his 5 o' clock shadow and shoes still on. Right? Course," she finished, standing up and walking to her closet and opening the doors, and as she did she turned back toward her boyfriend, whose expression was unnaturally horrified–_

_A pile of clothes –heavy clothes–fell from the top of the closet buried Ino; no...too heavy to be clothes...she caught an acrid stench of cigarettes and as she opened her eyes and felt the thing that had fallen out of her closet and onto her–_

_She let out a terrified shriek and beat at it, letting it collapse to the floor and backed into Shikamaru, horrified, as his grotesquely massacred face stared at her from the carpeted floor._

"_No," he whispered, letting the black box slip from his hand and land with a 'thoomph' on the floor; Ino was wracking with sobs as she walked slowly forward and dropped to her knees; gently, she removed the cigarette from her former Sensei's mouth and crushed it in her fingers, letting the ashes fall into the thick carpet. Her voice shook violently as she hissed:_

"_Still with a cigarette...of **fucking** course..."_

* * *

Predictably, a shocked silence followed her story; Shikamaru's expression was as stony as any others' in the group, despite that it had been his teacher and he remembered this first-hand. Guilt toiled within him too; maybe if they hadn't stayed out so late they would have made it home to prevent something... 

Ino whimpered and Sakura stared at her expression that now gazed at the ground into nothing, eyes closed and now shaking so badly that Sakura put her arms around her best friend.

"I can't even look at my closet now...I can't even sleep in that room anymore...the smell of cigarettes makes me dizzy and I curse at him for ever doing the disgusting habit and then scream at myself for saying it 'cause he's dead and I shouldn't...and no matter how much I fought with him about that habit and everything else I would never and didn't ever hate him...I just feel like if I had gone home earlier I wouldn't have been so exhausted and tipsy and we could have caught it in time..."

"They killed Asuma...they would have killed you too," Sakura said quietly. "He probably fought bravely as he knew how." When Sakura listened to the words she had spoken she realized that she could have easily lost her friend had they gotten home earlier.

Torn; she was glad her childhood friend was still alive...was it better that only one had died instead of three? _No...you're disgusting for thinking that Sakura._ She tightened her embrace around the tall blonde.

"And now Kurenai is so upset," Ino added; Shikamaru made a quiet growl and fumbled in his vest pocket for a toothpick; he ground it between his teeth, staring at the ground.

"And I shouldn't have said all this, I shouldn't have told this all to Tenten because it upset her and then she started talking about times with Neji and at first I thought it was actually good, we would you know, talk about it but she started becoming hysterical," Ino said quietly, pulling away and leaning her head on Sakura's shoulder, still avoiding her gaze and anyone else's. "Too hysterical...she completely lost it and starting speaking to the water as if Neji was in there, swimming or something...Hinata and I tried to talk sense into her but she didn't listen...she ended up throwing her head in there and we pulled her out but the damage was done...it was too late then...that's where you found us, holding her and she was screaming and crying..."

One shuddering breath and she fell silent, face in her hands, a girl that usually never cried and always had the bitchy last word; humbled by guilt. Sasuke stared at Sakura, who was watching her best friend with a piteous gaze and tears rolled silently down her face; she saw him looking and hurriedly swept them away, leaving streaks. Shikamaru's toothpick snapped between his teeth and he immediately took out another; Naruto seemed angry rather than upset; it was usually how he coped, and picked up a nearby rock and flung it straight into the dirt, shaking. Lee was expressionless and silent; Hinata tugged on Naruto's arm to prevent him from scooping up yet another, much larger stone.

Heads watched Sasuke as he rose heavily from his seat and brushed himself off, stretching; Sakura looked up at him intriguingly, and he spoke to the group:

"We should keep going. There is _no_ evidence that Tenten is dead. We should continue to follow the river as planned and see if there is anything that could help."

Lee stood up too, folding his arms. "What about where she fell? How is going further away going to help?"

"The only way to get down into the water is to either come from the ocean by swimming or fall down. Scaling the cliff is stupidity, and I doubt you want to jump off too."

A tense silence descended and slowly the others stood too; Sasuke held out a hand for Sakura and she took it, slightly surprised at his unusual generosity. Gathering her things the medic turned her back to him and hoped he would not see her tenderly rub her upper arm and grimace, but he didn't miss a thing. Glowering, he grabbed her wrist (perhaps a bit rougher than he'd hoped to be) and pushed her short sleeve up past the purple bruises that were around her entire arm from Lee's angry and extremely powerful grip.

"Fine...it's fine," she muttered, giving him a look of warning as Sasuke glared at her intensely. "I'll take care of it."

Swinging her bag onto her shoulder she stood for a moment in silence and let her eyes fall closed; tiny hisses were heard as the purple slowly faded into green and then yellow. A minute later there was nothing more than yellow spots from where they almost nearly healed; nearly wasn't good enough for Sasuke and he gave her a searching look.

"Bruises heal...if someone ends up hurt, I can't waste energy on minor injuries. Especially on myself."

Her answer was moral and true but not a good one to Sasuke; he nudged her elbow gently and they walked forward together, the others standing in a semi-circle, waiting, the tension no less painful as they set off up the river once again. Ino's tears were dry and Naruto's temper had subsided, but Hinata still kept her arm on his in case.

A rustling–

Sakura whirled around with a hand glowing with blue chakra and a kunai between two fingers, ready, but Sasuke caught her wrist, looking in the direction of the noise.

"What's wrong?" Hinata asked quietly; Sakura did not answer right away, but lowered and put away her weapons.

"...The wind or something..." She didn't believe it and neither did the shy girl who stared at her with pupil less eyes, asking if it really were true. Turning, Sasuke once again nudged her forward, and she looked over her shoulder one last time before letting him pull her forward. And although she was resentful toward him for treating her like a child, she didn't say anything as he kept his hand locked tightly around her wrist as they walked.

* * *

"Pleease...I can give you information, I don't want to be here–" 

"SHUT UP!" Anko shrieked, snapping her pen in two and slamming the clipboard down onto the table; that broke in two also and papers fell like leaves onto the floor. In the dim candlelight her eyes were flashing and she wore a strained grin across her face; biting her lip, she cursed and stared at the contents within the cell; besides a tiny ventilator through which the afternoon light shone, there was no other light but that from the dancing candle. Anko squinted down at her notes that were now out of order and difficult to read. "You're not leaving. You or your friends. So get used to it."

"But, but–" the girl gasped, white eyes overflowing with pathetic tears and she put on a sorrowful look, pressing her thin face against the bars. "I never chose this...I was forced, you have to believe me!"

"I don't give a _damn_ whether you were forced or not, you're going to tell me everything I want to know."

A silence fell and the girl sat sniveling in the dark, whining and pulling on the bars and still muttering:

"I was forced...they kidnapped me and I was the only main branch child left, and they told me they'd kill me unless I did as they asked, I just want to go back and see my father, Hiashi, he's probably missing me, you don't understand...I never planned to go with the other foreigners, I swear, I was going to escape as soon as I could! And once he finds out what you've been doing, you'll be in trouble, you know! Doing this to his eldest–AAUGH!"

The point of a fist sized shuriken stuck fast into the stone behind the white-eyed girl in her dismal cell; she held her hand to her face to stem the flow of blood issuing from her cheek. Anko's aim was exceptional.

"Next time, it's goin' through your eye," Anko told her, putting her feet on top of the table and crossing them. She glared at the girl, who struggled to put on a pathetic and innocent face.

"You're a good actor...it's no wonder you've been carrying on with your underground activities behind your own father's back. You're _not_ innocent and you're not pathetic, and it's only a sin you've received those terribly endearing eyes that can cry at the drop of a time, even though you don't feel a damn thing. So just stop the lost little girl act and tell me what I want to know," Anko finished, smirking at the prisoner's face; her mouth hung open and her eyes narrowed, but no sound issued from her mouth out of shock. A moment later she clenched her jaw and her entire demeanor had changed. The anger radiating from her was equivalent to Sasuke's intensity and she mirrored Anko's smirk.

"Well aren't you just _so_ smart," the girl hissed rudely, the innocence she had feigned up until now buried within. "I'm the only one who even resides in this country, you know...the others have come from all over and I'm the most intelligent one in that bunch, I swear. I was the youngest and they treated me that way...they always said I had an attitude. Ah well...better than my sorry excuse for a sister."

"Your sister, at least, still possesses a heart. Can't say that for you...and when I saw you at the Chuunin exams so long ago you were so different than you are now..." Anko remembered observing the crowd at those deadly exams...the beginning of the first fall of Kohona. They were now on their second.

"A year after...they taught me many things...to shut out emotion and balance it with being stoic and unfeeling...developing my already advanced skills and now I have quite a few forbidden techniques under my belt. My own father wouldn't believe it."

"Yet you were pretty easy to bring in," Anko said, still smirking; the girl flushed but recovered instantaneously:

"If you think you can pull those out of me, you're sadly mistaken," she finished regally, giving Anko a knowing look.

"Well, that's why after dinner you get to have a chat with some more people," Anko replied easily, using her leg to steady the paper. "I can't handle listening to your annoying voice preach about evil prevailing and betrayal and all that fun stuff. Now if you'll excuse me, I have another prisoner to go pick up and drop off. My work is never done."

Anko gathered up her papers and broken clipboard; she kicked her broken pen toward the girl and it skidded under the bars.

"Here's a present." Anko walked to the door..._Three...two..._

"Who else have you caught?" the girl asked, interested.

_One._

"The leader's wife."

The girl burst out laughing and Anko looked over her shoulder, eyebrow raised.

"Are you going to let them be in the same cell?"

* * *

"No." 

An ANBU officer gestured to the woman sitting on the couch who illustrated the epitome of snob; she must not have fought very much to elude capture as her wavy, rust-colored hair remained perfect, as did her painted red lips with a permanent pout and dark eyeliner that let her green eyes pop startlingly. Still as a statue she remained, primly, in her seat not turning her head left or right; her eyes surveyed all they could from her peripheral vision, giving every person a label and every object a rating.

"No," Anko repeated, her face etched with disgust.

"You are taking her to the cell that holds her husband...Kakashi will deal with the interrogation. Just try not to rip her face off."

Anko opened her mouth and closed it; damn, they all knew her too well. The officer walked over to the couch and took the woman firmly by the upper arm and steered her to Anko, who took the proffered arm as if it were something disgusting and dragged her off; the woman made a noise of dissent and whined.

"Where am I going?"

"Where do you think?"

"That's why I'm asking," the woman said as if she were a cat; a rumbling, dangerous purr behind it that feigned innocence and was everything but. Anko nearly gagged on her tongue.

"You're going to have a chat with someone who isn't going to be very happy to see you," Anko told her, hitching a smirk onto her face, hoping to shut the woman up with some sarcasm.

"Are you referring to my interrogator or my husband?" _Well damn, she can be a bitch as well as look like one._

Anko did not respond and without knocking walked right into the underground room to find the sight of Kakashi, standing erectly and facing the foreigner with an intense look that he did not have often; both looked at the two who had entered.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," the foreigner, hidden in the darkness murmured; Kakashi did not speak.

"Get her away from me," Anko muttered, shoving the woman ruthlessly forward; Kakashi took her arm and a bit less harshly, steered her into the cell with her husband. They did not look at each other nor speak to each other, and Anko took a seat, smiling in the shadows. This was interesting.

"How has your afternoon been, dear?" the man in the cell asked, eyes glittering toward his wife who did not respond or acknowledge him. As a sarcastic smile made it's way onto her face, her vibrant jade eyes seemed to light up, glittering like her husband's in the darkness.

"Fine. How was your gallivant, your night on the town? How many blonde tramps did you have to fight away before you could open the door and sneak back in?"

Unperturbed, her husband replied. "At least it gave you enough time to shove the three men out the bedroom window, making sure they left my slippers."

"Undoubtedly fascinating your social and sexual lives are," Kakashi interrupted; they both focused on him and Anko turned her laugh into a wracking cough; Kakashi glared at her before continuing. "I have more important things to do than listen to a young couple bicker about who did what with who what night, so I want my questions answered. When I leave, by all means, you can continue."

His words shut them up and Anko continued to 'cough', which eventually turned into a choke and a wheeze. Kakashi closed his eyes and prayed for patience; his sense of humor had been left at the threshold of the dungeons, his normal personality buried behind his mask. He was angry, there was no mistake, and he slammed his gloved fist onto the table and pointed to the door.

"Obviously you can't handle this...get out."

Anko cleared her throat, face flushed, and choked out, "Getting touchy in our old age, are we?"

The look she received thoroughly frightened her and shut her up; Anko stopped laughing immediately; technically she was ranked above him, but when Kakashi showed a temper (which didn't happen very often), no one cared test it. Quelling her smirk, she walked to the door but did not open it, instead leaning against it, hidden in the shadows.

"We're almost done anyway. I have a question for you," Kakashi demanded of the man, who leaned back on his arms, almost bored, disregarding rank, age, and situation to be a pretentious ass. Anko leaned her head against the door and sighed.

"I ask you this one last time...were you responsible for the death of Mrs. Haruno in any way?"

"Depends on what you consider 'responsible'–"

"I _will not_ tolerate your sarcasm," Kakashi said, and while his words were that of a peaceful man, his tone implied otherwise. He rested his elbow on his knee and his chin on his elbow and leaned forward, his one eye, normally lazy and buried in a book, now staring through the foreigner's resentful expression.

"I was part of the group that was sent out that night for the murder. I may have hit her once or twice, and I certainly did not hold back. But as for the idea...no...we had our orders."

"Orders from whom?" Kakashi demanded, eye narrowed.

There was a silence in which his wife opened her mouth and then closed it; no doubt she would be easier to pull information from than him. The man smiled a little too understandingly and licked his lips.

"Why, the almost–boss I'm _so _grateful to have, Uchiha Itachi," he hissed, his answer dripping with sarcasm. Anko straightened up; from the other side of the door she heard someone gasp but could not tell who...someone was most likely listening when they shouldn't be, but the curiosity of this man's tale was too strong...

"Are you currently a member of the Akatsuki?" Kakashi inquired, voice steady. Anko's eyes widened and her hearing sharpened like an animal's as she listened, but he spoke loud enough for all to hear–

"No, I am not. The criminal group that I lead is under _his_ lead but not part of his team. Hired."

"How do you report to Uchiha Itachi?" Kakashi asked, and Anko had just been wondering...the Akatsuki was an organization, comprised of talented and dangerous Shinobi...secretive and few in number, they were as close as they could be...which wasn't saying much. Each led their own life, their own personal gain from being with other powerful ninja, and while Itachi had influence...

"I am merely a pawn to him, I am sure...I am simply enjoying fringe benefits. No...the man that posed as an Akatsuki member that really belonged to your village...I was under the foolish impression that he was a member of the organization sent from Itachi, for I knew someone as powerful as he would not come himself."

"Why would Uchiha Itachi send people for him–"

"Because," Anko interrupted, throat dry. "Because...now he's in charge."

The foreigner nodded in response and Kakashi's expression was calculating...the original Akatsuki leader was not in commission anymore...Anko's voice shook slightly as she asked–

"Did he...kill...?"

"I'm assuming," the foreigner replied snidely.

Kakashi sighed heavily. "So Uchiha Itachi now leads the Akatsuki."

"Took you a full game of 20 questions," the woman muttered.

"SHUT UP!" Anko snapped, shaking out of anger; the kunai she had pulled out of her pocket nearly snapped, but instead she let it fall to the floor. "Don't you fucking mouth off to him that way or I'll–"

"Anko, please, you've heard enough," Kakashi told her, hoping to prevent her from losing her short temper.

"But..." Anko started, and if her gaze could kill the woman protected by the bars would be nothing but a pincushion. And Kakashi _always_ treated her like a child. "Fine."

Whirling around she wrenched the door open and came face to face with Kurenai; the red-haired jounin's face was sallow, equally blood-red eyes staring at the door and not even registering Anko, who rolled her eyes and shoved past her with a sneer. Listening outside the door, please...

She didn't know what bothered her about Kurenai; in all honesty, they did not interact much, Kurenai being a normal jounin and Anko usually assisting the Hakoge and running the Forest Of Death stage of the Chuunin exams; it had used to be her favorite part. Lately she couldn't help feeling pity and mentally torturing the students beforehand just wasn't entertaining anymore. And wherever she went, Kurenai was there, they were polite and nothing more: Once in a while in the staffroom, almost every time she spoke with Kakashi or Gai or Asuma, and it made perfect sense, she was friendly with all of them.

Kind and soft-spoken but with a fierce personality beneath her, no one usually had a problem with her; certainly the latest batch of young, immature jounin didn't have anything bad to say about the attractive redhead.

But lately she was the subject of many a conversation...one evening she had been spotted hand in hand with Asuma Sarutobi, uptown near the classy side of the city. She caught whispers here and there, the rumor (that had ended up being true) of a proposal...

And the next day, Anko was the one that brought the news to Kurenai that Asuma was dead, on an unusually cloudy day, exactly a month from the date when she had been brought news that Kiba and Shino had not made it home from Black Castle. Could that have been the reason it was difficult to feel sorry for her or look her in the face?

_Or maybe it's the fact that she's obviously waiting outside that room for **Kakashi.**_

_You're how old? You're an adult; handle this like one._

Blinking, Anko emerged from the underground and squeezed her eyes shut while shutting the door behind her; the smell of disinfectant permeated her nostrils and the fluorescent lighting made it harder to focus. The first thing she heard was an angry voice snapping at a group of people, who were protesting weakly and attempting to get a word in edgewise; Anko's sandals squeaked on the always-clean tiled floor and she walked past some closets and storage rooms out into the lobby. Crowded around the front reception desk was a flock of nurses and a couple mediocre-level medics, all clutching their clipboards to their chests and enduring the orders that the head nurse was raining down. Usually polite, patient Sakura was in charge.

"What's going on?" Anko inquired roughly, tired of the high-pitched voices protesting in vain. She folded her arms and waited for the manager to speak.

"Two of the children are left...the rest have died in the past few hours. We have no leads or understanding of what happened to any of them, and the only evidence we'll have now is an autopsy. Meanwhile, a little boy was removed from the infirmary and taken home, apparently, by a certain jounin that no one can seem to find!"

Anko had already been informed of the fact that only two children remained, two girls, but the second part piqued her interest. "Who?"

"Kurenai, red hair, usually seen with–"

"I know...where she is...why do you need her?"

The nurse stared at Anko incredulously. "She removed a child _without permission_ and now that child is most likely dead!"

Anko stared back at her, wondering, in all honesty, how it mattered anymore...the child was presumably going to die anyway judging by the rest of them, and while this wasn't the moral way to think it was definitely true. But it sounded as though Kurenai was in trouble...Kurenai, of all people? A grin made it's way onto her face, the grin of a satisfied Cheshire cat, and her purple spiked ends seemed to curl in response.

"Like I said, _I _know where she is."

* * *

Kurenai leaned against the door, wondering if her heartbeat was able to be heard as it pounded ruthlessly in her ears. 

"_Uchiha Itachi is now leading the Akatsuki..."_

The words echoed in her head...that was...incomprehensible. And this man had admitted to murdering in cold blood Sakura's mother, the same Sakura that Kakashi cherished, as he did Naruto and Sasuke, his closest students. Guiltily she was thankful it was not her that was in his shoes...and Sasuke's brother...the same boy that the staff had watched come and go as nothing more than a very talented child, rising through ninja ranks quickly and earning attention for his charm and abilities...now a high-priority name written in the Missing-nin books in every village across the country. This man that had tortured his little brother without blinking an eye after murdering the clan, now leading an underground organization that had been undetected for nearly 3 years, and they were no closer to locating them than inventing a jutsu to bring back the dead.

"Kakashi..." she whispered, putting her ear to the door to listen; how would he handle Mrs. Haruno's murder? He would have to be the one to break it to a student he could easily consider a daughter.

"**Kurenai**!"

Kurenai whirled around to find three nurses, the head nurse and two ANBU officers standing in the hallway only a few feet away, the looks on their faces anything but friendly. Kurenai cursed inwardly; she was such an idiot; Kakashi had warned her to wait.

"Let's go," the head nurse said.

Kurenai did not answer immediately; she kept her expression blank as she racked her brain for a plan of action...the only thing she could think of was to play stupid.

"And who might you be?" Kurenai asked innocently, hitching a (hopefully) genuine smile on her pretty features.

"The one in charge around here in the absence of Ms. Sakura Haruno." The three underlings behind her gave each other shifty glances and looked at their feet. Clearly, the choice of staff was not appreciated, and Kurenai barely hid her grimace of sympathy.

"Do you wish to–to speak to me?" she asked, trying not to trip over her words. _Oh no..._

"Yes, I believe I do," the head nurse said, slightly mimicking the redhead's honeyed tone with a sneer.

"Well, you see, I was waiting to speak with–"

"You are placed under protective custody on the grounds of removing a patient without permission and contributing to his death." Her tone was final and frightening.

"Contributed to his–no! He was–going to..." Kurenai didn't have the heart to say he would have died anyway, and instead was at a loss for words. _Don't let anyone bring you in for questioning until I am with you, understand?_ He had known this would happen, that's why he wanted to be there to defend her.

The head nurse nodded and the two ANBU officers stepped forward, stood next to Kurenai and securely took her arms; she knew she couldn't fight, that would only amount to more trouble, but she still protested verbally, trying to justify her actions.

"Please–you _don't _understand, he asked me to–the family! Ask them, they know I brought him home."

"Take her to the Hokage."

"Beg pardon, he has not returned yet," the officer said in a quiet voice.

"Then take her to Tsunade," the nurse snapped, pointing down the dark corridor; they yanked the jounin, that towered over the nurse and all of the apprentices, past her and down the hall.

Kurenai uttered a low growl in her throat out of anger and injustice; how had they found her anyway? Nurses usually didn't come down into the dungeons anyway and the only person that had witnessed her standing at the door was–

A quiet, obnoxious chuckle was heard from slightly behind her; leaning against the wall, arms folded and that grin of a Cheshire on her face; hidden in a little niche in the rock was Anko. Kurenai's eyes flashed dangerously and she stopped abruptly...so it had been _her_. Ruining her life yet again.

A mocking finger wave, and Kurenai nearly broke free of her hold, but the officers dragged her swiftly down the corridor; the dancing firelight of the bracketed torches reflecting in her eyes.

Anko couldn't tell if the thing she was feeling was considered guilt, but she ignored it as she took Kurenai's place by the door, but this time she didn't smirk; she jumped as the door opened and Kakashi stared down at her, his gray hair brushing the top of the door frame; he stared down at her and straight through her; he knew but was not direct.

"I heard someone waiting outside this door earlier when you were in the room with me. When you left, did you see who it was?"

"Kurenai," Anko said immediately, and bit her lip. _Fuck...I wasn't supposed to say that..._

"And where did she go?" Kakashi asked in his lazy tone; underlying anger was bubbling under his words; he knew something had happened but he wanted her to say it. Anko chewed on her tongue and kept up her resentful and obnoxious facade...he stared down at her waiting for her to break and normally any other person would have broken under _her_ gaze...she was an interrogator and proctor after all...but not Kakashi.

She wrenched her gaze from his and her fists were clenched as she stalked off down the corridor; Kakashi watched her stalk off, slowly understanding the problem, what had possessed the brash woman to say and do what she had.

But that wasn't the highest priority right now; he had to find Kurenai and intervene...he leaned against the wall in deep thought, mind attempting to focus but full of the information he had gathered...the mission they had planned a few months ago was now becoming longer, more dangerous and certainly more complicated than they had imagined it being. And it seemed that problem upon problem built a tall tower that would eventually come crashing down when the 8 ninja returned...

And truthfully...he did feel a bit old.

A bit old and puzzled by the actions of women.

* * *

--bursts out laughing--

I hated making Lee all --zomg woman gah you hurt me in the past die sasuke!11-- but it was terribly awkward.

Always pay attention to this information...besides, the next chapter has more Sasuke and Sakura. --laughs quietly to self-- --smiles evilly----laughs some more--

So bleh...leave a review. ;)


	14. For When Girls Fight

_So...hi!_

_Ohh boy...every chapter I write gets more and more fun and the plot gets thicker and thicker...--jumps up and down like a rabbit on crack-- I had to put that in there because I always get called that...Again, always longer than I expect but if it's good then I don't care. _

_I apologize for the fight scenes...they're SO hard to depict...putting a scene onto paper with action is just really hard, so I could except flames or whatever for those parts..._

_Whatever, just READ._**

* * *

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**Chapter 14: For When Girls Fight...**

"You plan to let go of my wrist anytime soon?"

"Not until you stop turning around like a crack-ridden rabbit."

Sakura scowled at his insult and jerked away from him, but his hold was tight. It was a long and tiring journey up the river; a steady uphill incline with slippery, marshy ground with assorted plants that snapped and the constant rustling from the tree or bush they had just passed. It was not the wind, despite what Sasuke had been telling and reiterating for the past half hour; that nagging feeling that someone was following and straying in your shadow, breathing when you breathed; the hair on the back of your neck straight up as a constant reminder that she ignored.

She was not the only one...Hinata noticed too, and looked back over her shoulder every so often at Sakura, who would ignore Sasuke's exasperated roll of the eyes and speak with hers,_ "Just wait for now."_ Naruto, in turn, would look back as she did, his eyes would find where Sasuke and Sakura's hands together and grin his stupid grin, then watch Hinata's intense and distant gaze that saw nothing. Lee led the way without looking back or speaking at all, and Ino and Shikamaru followed a couple feet behind him, arms linked, Ino occasionally pointing out plants and flowers, informing them all of what she knew about botany in a loud obnoxious voice.

One plant particularly piqued her interest; a twisting purple vine with black leaves that seemed to feed from a willow tree; its' ebony pointed spikes stuck deep within the bark. She dragged Shikamaru back to look at it; crimson liquid streaked the trunk and caught the overcast light that hovered over the trees and she remained utterly fascinated.

"That's pretty sick," Shikamaru muttered, gently stroking the end of a cone-shaped spike that protruded inches out. Naruto reached for one and Hinata looked up at him as though he were crazy; Ino snapped at him to keep his hand back.

"Favoritism," Naruto grumbled, watching Shikamaru grin as he snapped one off–Ino blanched– and he picked his teeth with it.

"For all you know that could be poisonous!" Ino snapped, slapping it out of his hands.

"Shouldn't you know? You are the one who works in a flower shop after all," he accused playfully, but taking a regular toothpick out of his vest pocket and chewing on it. She frowned; he only did that when he was extremely stressed...as of late it had been occurring more and more often.

Lee was far ahead, not slowing down in the slightest, and Naruto and Hinata were now becoming distant; Sakura and Sasuke passed and Sakura said, "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, give me a minute," Ino said, still intrigued and waved them away. After another moment, Ino sighed and took her man by the arm again and they walked.

"What was the sigh for?"

She smiled slightly. "I don't know...I thought it was beautiful. But hearing me be loud and stuff, people don't expect me to sit and enjoy flowers."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well everyone thought I was just a lazy slacker...and they were wrong."

"But you _are_ lazy."

"I beg to differ–"

"When's the last time you watered the plants? Or cleaned the bathroom?" Ino demanded, raising an eyebrow at him and watching his face.

"Well that's boring," Shikamaru said defensively, mimicking her facial expression and she burst out laughing loudly and swiftly unhooked her arm and jumped on his back.

"So troublesome," Shikamaru muttered in mock loathing; she pouted and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, arms around his chest, and let her long blonde hair fall in front of his face as she kissed the top of his head. He parted the curtain of hair so he could see where he was going and looked up at her.

"Dare I say you're beautiful? Wouldn't want it to go to your head," he murmured, grinning. Ino legs tightened around him to hold on.

"I think it already has," he added, and she gasped in mock hurt and forced her lower lip to tremble. He nearly tripped and looked ahead to see where he was going.

"I like hearing that I'm beautiful," she whispered, speaking against his neck; she shivered as his fingers gently toyed with her hair...

But _his_ hands were gripping the bottom of her thighs to keep her from sliding off...

**SLAM!**

Unbelievable pain erupted in her head as in a second flat she was on her back, being dragged across the dirt by her...hair? Yes, her hair; she struggled to free herself but the grip on her head was so strong it was impossible to lift her chin to see if anyone had noticed what had happened.

"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Ino heard Naruto's cry and dug her heels into the dirt trying to slow whatever was dragging her down, but her neck and head were immobilized; forced to stare up at the overcast sky as it rushed past; she heard the others yelling but with the sound of her skin scraping across the dust, she couldn't decipher anything...

"You sonofabitch!" she screeched in one breath, digging her heels deeper and reaching toward her hair with a kunai; while she loathed short hair with a passion, it was the only way to get herself out and put both her arms back to find the hand that was dragging her along like a child with a sled–

If only there had been a hand to find; instead a moist vine dotted with short sharp feelers pierced the skin of her fingers as she grasped it, assuming it had been human; she swore and twisted like a fish to escape. Whatever was carrying her along obviously had no manners; tiny pebbles scraped across the back of her legs and skull and her fingers found the giant knot of hair that it had formed in it's...claw? She wasn't sure _what_ to think of it.

About twenty Narutos sprinted past her; a few leapt over her and their sandals pounded on the ground adding to her throbbing headache she had earned. Strangled yells pierced the air and many flew back and disappeared...where was her goddamn boyfriend? He wasn't made a captain for nothing...

But her heart stopped as she heard his yell, for she knew it well, echo from so far away...had this thing gotten him too? It was time to stop wondering and start doing something about it. Gritting her teeth she reached back once again and rose the kunai above the knot of hair; as she brought it down, hoping to cut herself free, another vine had grabbed her unused hand and pinned it in the way–

She shrieked; that plant was too damn smart; she felt warm blood soak her hand, but her head gave a bit and she lifted her chin to see the others; Sakura and Naruto were in the lead, but Shikamaru was nowhere to be seen...And her mind was racing–why was she getting thrown around by a goddamned plant? Raising the knife again, she held her breath: Hopefully she came out of this with a hand, and she brought it down again, hoping that it slit her hair effectively this time.

But this time she missed completely and the vine had wrested the kunai from her and tossed it aside; as she watched the world race by, it was left in the dust...and before she'd realized it, so was she. The grip on her throbbing head loosened and she skidded to a stop on her back and the vine had let her hair go, leaving leaves and thorns tangled in a mass of different shades of blonde. She retched, trying to catch her breath as she shook, raising her chin to find a crowd of Naruto's running full force at her once again.

"HEY!" she screamed, raising herself to lean back on her arms and reached out to grab the nearest jacket; "Where the_ hell_ is Shika–ma?"

"INO!" Sakura screamed; placing her feet apart she flung her arms out, a shuriken originating from between each two fingers whistled as they passed dangerously close to Ino's head; Ino swivelled and watched them embed themselves in the twisting tree that had been awkwardly lumbering after her. Leaves were slashed off and apart in ribbons and vines were sliced in uneven pieces to land on the ground, and the tree collapsed, the vines twisting and writhing and resting. Naruto's clones continued to beat the living hell out of the tree that was now motionless, and Ino pulled herself to her feet, stunned.

"STUPID PLANT! ATTACKING SOMEONE WHEN THEIR BACK IS TURNED! THAT'S COWARDLY, DAMN IT!" the clones echoed, still punching the lifeless tree, which almost seemed to sigh as it's vines relaxed.

"Naruto, stop, it's done!" Sakura yelled; Sasuke, Hinata, and Lee ran up and stared wordlessly at the fallen tree.

"Let me get this straight," Ino said, wrapping her hand around the other to quell the profuse bleeding. "I just got attacked and dragged around like a rag doll BY A PLANT?!"

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked, making a face. "You're bleeding...the back of your head–"

"Oh, I'm fine, 'cept I'm gonna beat the living hell out of that thing!" she shrieked, running toward the tree that the clones had now abandoned; they had vanished and now Naruto was looking at it.

"That was some plant," he said, and Ino shoved him out of her way and kicked at the tree trunk, cursing.

"_Stupid_ plant, stupid _vines_, stupid dragging, stupid–"

"Ino," Sakura said, taking her by the wrist and dragging her away, "you seriously need to calm down, you were fine a few minutes ago–"

"That was before I got attacked by giant tree with vines growing out of the trunk and it made me stab my own hand and _where's Shikamaru_?" she rattled off, suddenly pale. Sakura bit her lip.

"When you were pulled off his back he turned around and the tree's vine, well, hit him."

"Hit him?"

"Yeah, hard...into the air and–"

"Into the AIR?" Ino asked, eyes flashing dangerously; Naruto bounded forward and Sakura shook her head no but–

"Yeah, like this," Naruto said, pointing at an imaginary object and illustrating it's projected path of flight; he drew an arc, and Sasuke grimaced. Ino, shaking in pain and anger, roughly picked Naruto up by the collar and shook him.

"YOU'D–BETTER–FIND–HIM!" She shrieked as Naruto's head jerked forward and back.

"Ino, enough," Sakura said calmly, and Ino shoved Naruto away from her and pulled another weapon from her waist; seething, she started slashing through the growth in random directions, and they certainly pitied whoever got in her way.

"Shik_amaru_!" she yelled, throwing her head back and begging the sky for a sign.

"Yes?" he answered loudly, waving an arm above his head from his place about the length of a football field away; a bit shaken and carrying his other limb tenderly, he stepped through the bushes carefully and continued to wave. "Ugh...these plants are _such_ a drag."

Ino was utterly relieved and sprinted all the way to him and threw herself on him, once again wrapping her arms and legs around him and laughing. "Thank god you're okay!"

"Mm, I'm fine," he muttered as she squeezed him nearly to death; she loosened her grip and scowled at his long hair full of thorns and leaves...he held a clump of her long blonde locks and gave her a questioning look.

"That," she said, pointing to the corpse that still lay on the ground, twitching occasionally. Shikamaru's eyes found her profusely bleeding hand and then the blood dripping from underneath her hair and seemed angry.

"She took a beating," Naruto supplied; the rest of the group had caught up.

"I'm fine...your arm," Ino muttered, watching him hold it close to himself and not letting it bend. He shrugged.

"Troublesome...really, I'm not in pain–GOD WOMAN, DON'T TOUCH IT!" he roared as Ino gave him a disbelieving look and roughly bent his limb at the elbow.

"I can fix it quick," Sakura said, and reached for the bag normally on her shoulder...it was gone. Whirling around, she spotted it, tan and in a heap far away near a large flowered bush; she jogged back to get it. The rest of them started back toward their destination at an average pace, and Sakura reached the bush, stooped, and grasped the strap; the rest of the bag was near the roots of the bush and she could not see it. As she tugged, someone seemed to exert equal, if not more, force and yanked the strap from her hands...she blinked, then reached for it again and repeated her action; she swore as it was ripped from her hold once again.

"Are you fighting with that plant, Sakura?" Naruto asked; Lee and Sasuke watched in interest as she plunged her hand underneath the leaves and felt for the person yanking the other end of the bag. Scowling darkly at this annoying idea of a joke, she placed the side of her head flat to the dirt and peered within the branches, fingers grasping the strap once again and her eyes were now accustomed to the dim light and she swore once again as the glint of a kunai stared her down–

The bush shuddered and thankfully her body reacted faster than her mind: In less than a second her head was out of the bush, she brought her feet under her and distributed the chakra among her toes and hands and shot up on all fours like a cat and she heard the weapons whistle as they passed beneath her, barely missing her sandaled feet. Still in the air... Exhilarated, she held her breath as she sent her own weapon into the bush, eyes narrowed to search for the stalker...voices were calling her name behind her and she landed on all fours, raising her head with her pink bangs falling over her face.

"Hell!"

Sasuke skidded to a stop in front of her, yanking her to a standing position by clutching her upper arm; she shoved him aside and continued to stare at the product of nature that had just attacked her.

"It's got my bag," she snapped, putting out an arm to keep him back.

On cue he growled and the glaring crimson Sharingan blazed in his eyes; Sakura caught the weapon thrown back at her from the bush and Sasuke's arm effectively blocked the other, both clattered to the dust. They both stepped back slowly to gain distance, breath held, waiting–

"There!" Sasuke yelled, and Sakura let three shuriken fly and knew it would send them back effectively–sure enough she caught each between her fingers and a twisted grin graced her face. Smart plants.

"SET THE DAMN THING ON FIRE!" Ino shrieked as though it were the most obvious thing in the world; Sasuke ignored her screaming and placed his fingers to his lips as though blowing out a candle...the bush seemed resistant as the tips merely smoked, although the entire shrub was engulfed in flames. Sasuke tossed his head pretentiously and ceased his attack, scowling at the shrub that did not have a singe.

"Smart...set the papers on fire," she said, shaking her head at him and powering up chakra in her hand, more specifically, her fingers, and slashed viciously at the bush; the leaves sizzled, burned and fell to the ground; she repeated her action until it slashed back at her–tiny cuts etched themselves into her face as the branches caught her in the jaw, leaves nicking her skin–sucking her lip, she prepared to lunge herself forward again but Sasuke caught her around the waist and dragged her back, just barely out of it's reach.

"Leave it!" he ordered, putting an arm in front of her defensively as the branch went for her face again; it wrapped around his wrist and began to tug on him instead, another one slamming into the side of his face; he cried out as the thorns ripped deep through his flesh, and Sakura slashed through the vine with a hand of chakra and stomped on the writhing end that had fallen to the ground...

"It grows back," she muttered, feeling the vine creep up her ankle; it wormed up her muscular calf and the buds of thorns embedded themselves in her flesh and began to grow as roots would in the ground–

"ROOTS!" Ino screamed, holding up Shikamaru, whose arm was clearly broken after she had wrenched it around, and Sakura turned in confusion, earning another whip with a branch across her face–"Go for it's roots!"

Sakura twisted awkwardly, for the vine still had a painful hold on her leg; she fell to the dust and the ivy now attached to her other leg, binding her limbs together, but her arms were free...she saw Sasuke as the shrub dragged him closer and closer, and his fire techniques seemed so ineffective and they shouldn't have been...

"A bush...a damn bush!" Sakura shrieked, placing her fingers flat to the dirt and directing a thin stream of chakra across the ground, heading straight for the roots; her arm shook and she ignored the throbbing pulse in her calf as the thorns penetrated deep, and absentmindedly her other hand let a kunai fly to severe the binds on Sasuke, for he had been nearly pulled into the shrub. And her blue stream was almost there...

A branch came down and severed it in half and the string broke, sending a jolt up her arm as if smacking a nerve wrong. Huffing, she did it again, but not sending it straight for the roots this time...it snaked and formed a circle like a lasso on the ground and completed a circle with a wide radius around the bush–

She flinched as Sasuke's body landed heavily, prostrate, next to her; struggling to hold her arm straight and wincing against the lashing branches she nudged his head with her nose and he groaned, raising his bloody face to see her. A surprised screech left her mouth as the vine now began to bind her hand to the back of her leg.

"Can you get your hands free?" she asked, quelling another flinch as the tip of a branch cracked like a whip, whistling too close to her face, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What a question," he said, blowing a stray ebony lock to clear his vision, a pretentious grin appearing on his face. Sakura returned it, equally sly, and although he mentally reminded himself to stop grinning at her, it didn't work. Shaking his head, he asked, "You have something in mind?"

_Oh god, do I, _Inner Sakura said in a quiet voice, watching him work his fingers through the vines the best he could, the bonds...bondage..._This is really not the time to be concocting kinky ideas in your depraved little mind._

Inner Sakura, once again, was a total bitch.

And while the thorns dragged across his flesh easily he eventually freed his hands and prepared to jump back up.

"Wait!" she snapped, and he remained on the ground, holding his hands as though they were still bound, scowling. "Stay down."

Sasuke glared at her, hoping that she knew what she was doing, because so far she wasn't putting up a very good show. She kept her hand steady as she could as he watched her try to slip her fingers underneath the rope to free herself...as she struggled to multitask...she tossed her head angrily and Sasuke continued to stare at her face. Becoming flushed and even angrier that she could not break the vine, the entranced boy could not suppress his amused smirk...well, she was in pain, but it _was_ pretty funny...

"Yes, this is hilarious! Do_ something_," she snapped, awkwardly throwing herself at him and sinking her teeth into his hand; he let out a noise somewhere between a growl and a chuckle, trying to ignore the shiver down his spine as she held on like a child. Without pulling his other hand from her mouth he worked with the vines holding her; as he ripped them off, she let her grip with her teeth loosen...she was free, and Sakura looked up at him from the ground, letting her lips drag mockingly softly over the skin of his hand. Uncomfortable, he redeemed himself by reacting on a whim and, using his hand that was free, slapped her ass-she jerked away from him.

"STO–OP!" he yelled, annoyed that he was so vulnerable feeling around her, and kept his mouth shut and kneeled low toward her to keep up appearances, not looking at her mouth hanging open...he had the distinct feeling he would pay for that, somehow. Now he wasn't even sure why he yelled at her to begin with...or what he said 'stop' for.

Naruto's obnoxious voice sounded from what seemed like so far away... "SAKURA! ARE YOU OKAY?"

"FINE, JUST STAY–BACK!" she yelled, gritting her teeth as the pulsing from her calf seemed to jolt her entire body–Sasuke huffed and still laid there, asking her with his eyes what she wanted him to do. She seemed to push the recent incident out of her mind.

"Fire," she whispered, caressing the sensual word, her sly grin disguising her pain as she raised herself slowly to sit on her feet, keeping the fine line of chakra from her finger loose. Sasuke did not acknowledge her, but his fingers performed the signs faster than ever as he held his breath...a small puff was all he would need...placing his fingers to his lips he crawled slowly across the dirt, eyes watching the shrub, which lashed out occasionally and shuddered ominously, as if it really watched their actions too.

"Take–your–time," Sakura stuttered sarcastically as the small vine on her leg continued to feed off her, thrashing and dancing and jerking her; she still held the chakra line and dragged her finger a bit to let out more slack...Sasuke lowered his mouth to her finger and let out one little spark–

The bush shuddered violently as it round itself in a tall and dangerous ring of fire, and Sasuke smirked, Sakura watching the flames dance in his dark eyes.

"Now?"

"I'd appreciate it...this sort of hurts," Sakura murmured, and Sasuke was not sure if she was talking about the growth now clawing up past her knee or the fact that the line of chakra she held between her fingers supported a fire on the surface that was licking her flesh; Sakura quickly wound her fingers through the fiery rope. Sasuke grabbed her wrists and tugged along with her as the rope slid across the ground...the lasso shrank quickly around the bush and in another second, the line had effectively burnt through the roots, which sizzled and seemed to scream in pain as they twisted upon themselves in black cinders...the roots were dying and without warning the rest of the bush erupted in vibrant flames...

Sakura let out a scream and jerked as the vine on her leg grew yet another deep thorn into her flesh, this time her thigh and her chakra line snapped and lay glowing on the ground. Lee and Naruto rushed forward to grab an arm and drag her back away from the still flaming bush...Sasuke glanced at her, her yells pounding on his eardrums...he watched a figure rise from within the flaming mass, and the outline of Sakura's messenger bag caught his eye–

"Sakura!" Lee cried as she elbowed him away and stumbled forward, the look in her eye frightening as she attempted to run with the vine still sprouting and growing, now well attached to her thigh and snaking up her side.

"What the HELL are you doing?" Sasuke roared, running up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist, dragging her as she kicked and fought to unleash her spleen on the figure who finally turned to acknowledge the girl screaming at him–the fire was dying and in the light glinted the mask of an ANBU officer.

Sakura threw her elbow into Sasuke's chest...hard. His grip loosened and he cursed himself as she took advantage and ran forward, wondering how she seemed to be able to pack such a damn punch with just a little bit of chakra, in the _same rib _every time, nonetheless.

The ANBU officer took off, her bag clutched to his chest as though cradling a child and the medic stumbled into a tree trunk, still trying to go after him...the plant seemed to pulsate and glow as it rotated slowly around her thigh, one particular branch nearly around her hipbone; she pushed off the trunk and scooped a paper off the ground that had fallen out...reports and parchment fluttered in the air like ribbons and Sakura grabbed them as best she could, clutching them as though it was all she had left...

The officer was gone, his presence marked only by the papers littering the ground. Meanwhile Sakura was standing in the middle of a clearing, bloody and scratched as she glared in the direction the thief had left. Seething, she used the heel of her hand to wipe blood from the corner of her mouth.

"Sakura, damn it!"

She glanced over her shoulder to see her friends running toward her, stricken, Ino dragging Shikamaru along the best he could go...it seemed his fall had left him with more than a twisted elbow.

"He's got my bag!" she raged, pointing in the direction he had gone. Her friends stared at her incredulously as the girl groaned about her loss while the vine continued to lengthen and attach, tiny thorns embedding themselves into her flesh.

"A fucking bag! Look at you!" Sasuke roared, spinning her around and shaking her as if she could not understand. "What was so _important_ about that bag anyway?"

A strange expression swept across her face so quickly and the silence that came with it was enough to pique the interest of all; wincing, her knees locked noticeably and she put her arms out to balance herself; the inner toil was gone.

"Well?" Sasuke demanded, not completely realizing he was supporting all of her body weight, but her pain hit him like a slap in the face as her knees gave way and she threw her head back, screaming at the top of her lungs–he lowered her to the ground, stricken, the others crowded around and watched in horror as the vine plunged yet another thorn, this time straight into her hipbone–without warning she plunged her hand into her pocket, whipped out a kunai and prepared to bring it down on the vine but Lee caught her wrist and held it firm.

"We got it."

Hinata, while awkward with the use of tools, took one of the few kunai she owned and gently slit the vines that were around her leg; Lee ended up stepping back as Sasuke pinned Sakura's wrist to the ground to keep her from helping, while the quiet girl continued...the medic's shuddering breaths were that of a rabbits, quick and shallow, but she never stopped straining against Sasuke's hold. Glaring at each other in defiance, Sakura sucked the blood of her lip and tried to hold her shaking body steady as Hinata gently tugged the vines off her leg.

"Thank you," Sakura said quietly to Hinata, shoving Sasuke's hand away and raising herself to lean back on her arms; the look on Sasuke's face was a universal warning, and Hinata excused herself and hurried toward Ino, who was attempting to help Shikamaru. Now it was just Sakura and Sasuke; the former pulled herself gingerly to her feet, tested her weight, nearly collapsed again but began to walk anyway...

She went about two more steps before being ruthlessly yanked back.

"What do you think_ you're_ doing?" Sasuke hissed, searching her with his dark eyes; Sakura wrenched her wrist away and continued walking, but he stepped in front of her; she glared at him with a gaze that he never remembered being so unfeeling, so cold.

"To get my bag," she stated flatly.

"You want to get killed over a stupid–"

"Nobody said you were coming with," she interjected rudely, beginning to –attempt– her typical strut she teased the human, the male part of his mind with. This effect was ruined when she stumbled and fell to her knees, during which time he took the opportunity to slip an arm under her and drag her to the nearest tree trunk. She clenched her jaw out of annoyance and let out a gasp as he roughly shoved her against it; her back stung with pain and she let herself slide to sit underneath the swaying branches. Expression livid, he pointed a finger at her and jabbed it obnoxiously within her reach at her face as he spoke:

"You are being_ stupid_, you are being _stubborn_, you are being unnecessary. You almost got yourself _killed_ over a messenger bag full of some reports and papers that are on file in your office that you _don't need_. You are a fucking medic, now you sit there against that tree trunk and _heal yourself _damn it!"

Sakura's mouth was a round 'o' of utter surprise and she stared up at him, glanced at the finger waving in her face, and back at him. Satisfied, Sasuke huffed and turned his back on her, which not only was a mistake but just asking for his life to be a bit shorter than he might have hoped. But he still chose to underestimate her, and this was the reason he was knocked to the ground for the nth time that day, wrestled with her, but ended up being shoved against the tree trunk, exactly where she had been just seconds before. In startled confusion he now stared at her, wondering just how she had managed to overpower him in the first place, but he had no time; she now had _her_ finger in his face.

"Now you LISTEN!" she screamed; the rest of them chose to ignore the argument rather than intervene. "I'll make this simple and to the point. Do not tell me what I can and can't do, okay? You have a lot of nerve saying anything when you made the mistake of going with a bunch of people who ended up turning on _you_, and leaving me with a concussion and a bro–"

She very noticeably bit her tongue and left it at that, folding her arms with her piercing jade eyes staring through him, trying to instill guilt; it was there but he would never concede defeat, not to Sakura. Struggling to ignore the memories she reminded him of, his mind wandered instead to how cute her face looked when she looked as though she would love to murder him right then and there.

_Why must I keep using the word 'cute'?_

"I'm going...not that you should care," she added nastily, hobbling off toward the others. He watched her walk away, almost annoyed that she had decided to stop yelling at him, all up in his face and such...now she was talking to the rest of them, convincing them to let her go find the officer that had stolen her things. Predictably, Lee was protesting; Sasuke smirked as he listened to Sakura become fresh with him too, and mimicked Lee's vain words under his breath; amusing. And no matter what, he knew she would win.

"I don't want you going alone," Lee pressed, as if his opinion would change her mind, sway her decision.

_Like he could stop her...she's too crazy and determined..._

Sasuke thought this lazily, watching her wave her hands and argue with each member of the group, and in the end there was no way they could have continued reasoning with her. She won.

_I expected her to._

His feet carried him over to the others but his mind wandered elsewhere; Shikamaru commented on how bloody his face was he shrugged it off as he did everything...Sakura was still talking, and while her voice did tend to drone on and on he found it kept him calm...like a gentle hum that was buzzing underneath his thoughts...

"Lee, I promise...I'll be fine..."

"You can't say that, Sakura, look at the state you're in now!"

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying I can't handle myself?"

Lee looked a bit wary, but his expression was one of deep concern for her. "No...it's just...this place is dangerous. _Really _dangerous. It's just not a smart move."

"She's not going alone," Sasuke said quietly; Sakura turned her narrowed gaze on him but he raised the bar, staring back. "I'll make sure that she doesn't."

"HAH!" she burst out, now turning her back on them all, watching him over her shoulder with a smile...a smile that she meant to look...Sasuke thought to himself..._god, what's the word?_

_Sexy?_

"You all continue up the river to find Tenten...it's imperative that we find her...I'll catch up with you later, I promise. It'll only take me a bit."

With one last look with a tone that Sasuke just could not place, she sauntered off in the other direction, leaving the rest of them to stare after her.

"Be careful, Sakura," Lee said, and Sakura glanced at Sasuke before giving Lee the simpering, trying–to–be–innocent look.

"Of course," she replied. Sasuke was not as calm anymore.

_What does she think she's doing anyway? Acting tough and all that when I know she's in so much pain...showing off...being stubborn...and then looking at me like that...looking at Lee like that..._

With a heavy scowl Sasuke jogged after her, and she occasionally glanced at him over her shoulder with that same strange smile on her face. Is_ this_ how she got her way? She would _never_ have done this when she was younger...she sure had changed...

_Or maybe when she was young...she didn't know how._

* * *

"_He's dead, Kurenai...DEAD...you're just going to have to accept it."_

Hate was separated by a desk: One watched the other with a superior air, the other with underlying fright, the first confident, the second struggling to be calm.The truly opposite pitted against each other with the judge as a bystander, new to her job and fairly bored with it.

So Tsunade let Anko do her job while she stood, staring out the window, mumbling to herself, ignoring what was going on around her...perhaps she was that reluctant to do her job, or maybe she was a bit intoxicated, it wasn't certain. The truth was that she had expected this day to come sooner than this, and now that it was here...she did not embrace it with any comfort. Since her predecessor was not even technically, officially deemed deceased...just lost. About damn time someone let her know the old man was wandering off on his own.

Fingers splayed on the desk, knuckles white, the interrogator glared down at her with adrenaline pumping, intimidation heavy in the atmosphere. Demure, Kurenai looked up at her indifferently as she knew how, though this was not her style; she wore her heart on her bright red sleeve, no question.

"_He's **dead**, Kurenai...you're just going to have to accept it."_

The only comfort–if you could call it that–she had received was a curt nod. A _nod_.Was one little nod going to piece her shattered remains together once again? Was a nod going to comfort her and help her sleep at night knowing the one person she loved was never coming back? A nod was nothing. It was uncaring and cold, and was just one of many nods to every one that died.

Anko was the one who delivered that nod, on a day she certainly considered the worst of her life.

"First off...how did you come into contact with this boy?"

Kurenai didn't answer: She trusted Kakashi. He would talk for her. She didn't dare deal with Anko...more likely than not it would erupt in an ugly personal battle that she would rather not fight.

"Did I _stutter_?"Anko thundered, eager to get the answers quickly...she would have to wait.

"No, but you did _spit_," Kurenai replied immediately, putting her hand over her mouth; _Where did that come from? Careful Kurenai..._

"Oh, so suddenly we have a backbone?" Anko taunted, taking a seat at Tsunade's desk as if she owned it; Tsunade could sense the tension–even through her intoxication– a mile away, and took advantage of the slight pause to leave the room. "That's a switch," she hissed as the door shut behind Tsunade.

"Why do you hate me?" Kurenai asked, attempting to change the subject the best she could...she knew he would show up soon and it was the first thing to slip off her tongue.

Anko blinked and her narrowed eyes relaxed slightly. "Hate you?"

"You can't deny that," Kurenai said quietly. "I know you're the one who tipped off the substitute nurse. Just...I'm not sure why."

"It's not that I _hate_ you," Anko started, genuinely taken aback.

"What is it then?" Kurenai asked, trying to sound casual, but in her heart she truly wanted to know...why did Anko have such an attitude toward her? She could admit to herself that she was a bit stiffly polite to the interrogator...bringing the news that had turned her life upside-down, while not her fault, still left a check mark in Kurenai's mind. And the fact that Anko had pretty much told her to 'get over it' boiled her normally calm blood in a way that caused her to see red every time she spotted the purple-haired woman. Was Anko...jealous?

Not of Asuma.

Anko did not answer but instead dramatically shoved her chair away from the desk, stood, and stomped to the window that Tsunade had been staring out of. Kurenai seemed indifferent to the drama and took to staring at the floor, wondering when Kakashi was going to come and deal with this hotheaded proctor, and this seemed to irk her companion; Anko chuckled quietly under her breath and tapped the window with a long finger. Provoking.

"What?" Kurenai asked, eyeing her suspiciously; Anko grinned; she took the bait so easily.

"Did you _love_ him, Kurenai?"she drawled, speaking to the wall, but she didn't need to turn around to see the way the redhaired woman stiffened. "Well?"

"What are you talking about?" she retorted evenly, putting her hand in her pocket to hold the cold object between her fingers. If only for a second.

"You know what I'm talking about," Anko said quietly in a sickeningly sarcastic tone; she turned and walked around the Hokage's desk and then to the left of Kurenai's chair; in circles she slowly paced, coming closer and closer to her seat. The demure one remained stiff and indifferent, though her crimson eyes were narrowed as she watched her progress; a vulture closing in for the kill of it's weak prey.

"Everyone knew, you know...everyone except _you_, of course...they say love is blind...I'd believe it," she taunted, voice volume lowered half an octave as her footsteps echoed ominously on the floor; the redhead watched her walk out of the corner of her eye.

"We are here to be loyal to our Hokage...we are here to protect the innocent, put young, aspiring shinobi on the path to greatness...we are here, sworn to serve the best we know how. Nobody usually settles down...nobody usually finds that one person that they would spend the rest of their life with," Anko continued, still pacing dangerously around Kurenai's chair; Kurenai's fist clenched in her pocket. "You're lucky if you do. And you shouldn't ever count on it...that person is either out of your reach–" She broke off, a sour look upon her face as she was reminded of her own pathetic wants. "Or–" she continued, stopping in front of Kurenai and staring down on her; she put her open hand near Kurenai's face, as if asking for a handout. "More often than not...they're ripped away before you have the chance to do anything." To emphasize her point, she closed her fingers into a fist and ruthlessly brought it back to her side, as if crushing a small bug.

"So what made _you_ special?" Anko asked, resuming her circular path around Kurenai's chair. "How did _you_ do it?"

"This isn't about Asuma,"Kurenai stated, nearly choking on her tongue after speaking his name for one of the few times since...he'd been gone. "The coldness from you...why?"

"If you haven't noticed, I'm not really nice to anybody."

"I can see that. Although you do have a soft spot for–" Kurenai broke off, wishing she hadn't brought it up...it slowly sunk in what the problem was...a fault that fell on neither of them, purely circumstance. Anko was livid.

"Who, _Kurenai_?" she asked, standing in front of her once again, towering, the jounin's name dripping mockingly off her tongue. "Since you obviously are an expert on feelings...you know now? The man that I will never have a chance with anyway...that_ you _are now moving onto after your loss of Asuma?"

There was a pause and Kurenai had to stop and think once again...

"Kakashi...and_ I_?" she asked, nearly stuttering, the look on her face bewildered and slightly amused. "We're not...I don't–"

"You were waiting for him outside the dungeons earlier," Anko accused, beginning her frightening circling once again. "I'm not an idiot...I know the entire story...I heard that he was the one to go get you after you ran off with the child."

"I was _concerned_...you have heard of Mrs. Haruno's recent murder? They were very close after Sakura severed ties with her mother...I was wondering if he...would be alright talking to the captives...he is my_ friend_," Kurenai replied, anger vibrating throughout her normally light voice. "He came to warn me about coming back, since everybody was after my blood when they found out what I had done...because I am_ his _friend. You're acting childish about this," Kurenai added, an ugly look making it's way onto her face that was not usual for her. "This idea of stealing men like we're in school is ridiculous."

Anko's face was in pure shock for a second as Kurenai's words hit her; while her voice had not risen, it was a figurative slap in the face.

Kurenai cried out as Anko took a handful of hair and by reflex smacked her hand away. Rising to her feet, she stood for the first time and faced the proctor, head-on.

"You really don't understand, do you?" Anko hissed.

"Don't ever touch me," Kurenai whispered, ignoring the rhetorical question.

"Don't ignore what I say," Anko ordered.

"I don't listen to you."

"Stop being so damn calm!" Anko screeched.

"Stop yelling."

"I'll yell at you if I_ damn_ please!"

Kurenai gasped as the stinging sensation of an open cut on her cheekbone; Anko grinned her vicious catlike grin.

"What are you going to _do_, Kurenai?" she asked, her tone so mocking that tears stung in the redheads eyes out of embarrassment. "Are you hoping_ Kakashi _is going to get you out of your mistake?"

"Are you really that jealous?" Kurenai whispered in amazement. Anko's expression flickered for a moment...an infinitesimal flicker of sadness. Ignoring it, Anko swallowed and resumed her mocking demeanor.

"What are you going to do, Kurenai? You're going to let me walk all over you, draw blood from your flesh...berate you with my words? Come on now...what are you going to do?"

Anko repeated these words over and over, each time stepping a little closer to the redhead, who was shaking out of dangerous fury; Anko loved the power, the control, and satisfaction of goading her without retaliation...

"What–are–you–going–to–do?" Anko whispered, inches from Kurenai's face.

She should have known eventually...

The most silent of birds will always have their moment when they burst into a song that is climactic, but equally noiseless in demeanor.

The door to the room opened and Kakashi stepped over the threshold–

–just in time to watch Kurenai slam her fist–driven by vindictive fury– into the side of Anko's face.

* * *

"No." 

"Yes."

"_No_."

"_Yes_." She copied his insistent tone with a grin.

"Mimicking isn't getting you anywhere," Sasuke said, keeping his arms folded as he stared at her, sitting on the ground, leaning back on her arms, breathing heavily. Despite that she had made it this far and outrun him for quite a ways, her leg would take time to heal and she was ready to go as far as necessary to the get her bag back for reasons unknown. Now she was catching her breath on the ground while Sasuke kept her from getting up. Normally she would sweet talk her way out of it or simply give him one good elbow full of chakra in the chest, but at the moment there was no energy to spare; deep holes decorated her muscular leg like holes blown in the dirt of a battlefield, smaller ones beginning to fade. Scowling darkly, she got to her feet, swaying a bit, and took one last deep breath.

Sasuke's arm shot out and hit her hard in the chest, sending her to the ground gasping, torso shaking uncontrollably to the speeding beat of her heart...

"Stop–that!" she choked out, closing her eyes and pushing away from him as he scooped her body off the ground, carried it a few feet to a tree trunk, and she continued to punch him the chest.

"Put me down...I'm capable of walking."

"As you insist, princess," Sasuke said sarcastically, dropping her at the bottom of the tree in a heap. "Forgive me for trying to keep you from killing yourself."

"As if you've ever really given a damn," she spat, straining to lean forward and stand once again and Sasuke watched her indifferently as he stood next to her. Pulling her legs beneath her, she braced her hands on her knees and was about to stand when he roughly put out his arm and caught her in the chest again; wheezing, she fell back against the trunk and her legs straightened. Sasuke let her dig her nails into his shoulder for a bit as she fought against the curses she longed to scream in her pain that was now hitting her hard as the adrenaline began to seep away. He stared out at the clearing, silent, as she gasped and writhed next to him, nearly in tears...but once again she kept them at bay...she would never cry in front of him.

Sasuke stood and stared down at her, still red in the face and still raring to fight; he chuckled to himself and her eyes swiftly narrowed. Only goal in mind to tease her further, he reached down and ruffled her pink locks as if she were a little girl.

"Now you stay here...you're in no condition to be running around...I'll go get your bag that's so important to you." With a roll of the eyes he began to stroll off in the direction where papers littered the ground; apparently the officer had left a trail, which left reason to believe they weren't really dealing with whom it appeared. He bent down to pick them up.

"You!" he burst out, sucking on finger that had been close to being separated from his hand from the kunai Sakura had thrown with such careful aim. Still leaning against the tree she smiled sadistically, but there was high color in her face.

"Don't touch them."

"Fine then," he replied, raising his hands and backing away. "This can be your job for while I'm gone...if you're up to it."

"Get back here!" Sakura screeched, still straining to stand; Sasuke turned his back on her and waved lazily at her over his shoulder.

"Bastard," she muttered, glaring at his retreating form; he walked around a high clump of bushes and was out of sight.

Suddenly aware of how alone she was, she bit her lip for a full minute before calling softly... "Sasuke?"

There was no reply.

"Sasuke?" she said again, a bit louder; a rustling and he came back around the bush, seeming typically annoyed.

"What? Sakura can't bear to be alone?"

"Shut up...just wondering if you'd actually gone. You can't leave me here...wouldn't want that weighing on your conscious...sorry, you don't have a conscious," she corrected snidely, insults tumbling off her lips faster than she could think. To her surprise, he stiffened at her words.

"No conscious...sure...if that's what you truly believe," he muttered, watching her finally rise to her feet. She dusted herself off but still leaned against the trunk. He walked up to her in such a slow and dangerous way that she wondered if he was going to strike her, but he simply looked down on her, inches away from her face.

"Is that what you think, Sakura? I have no conscious? Yeah, I have no feelings whatsoever, so don't worry about saying anything that would hurt me."

She cast her eyes down uncharacteristically, twiddling her fingers. "I didn't mean–" Act the part.

"Well I do, despite what everyone thinks," he hissed, gripping her shoulders tightly and nearly holding her off the ground; it was more painful than Lee's had been.

"Sasuke...I'm sorry," Sakura whispered into his neck, voice begging to be forgiven...in another second he had wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. Smirking against his collarbone, Sakura felt him stiffen and abruptly pull away, his chest painted crimson.

His horrified gaze did not chill her and she tapped the kunai protruding him his chest with a spark of chakra that sent it through him; it whistled through the air with a thin string of chakra attached and slammed into a tree a few feet away, and with her limited energy she slammed her fist into his ribs; Sasuke was thrown against the tree with the string still through him and he slid to the dirt, groaning.

Sakura sunk to her knees and cursed; she hated when he was right...but there was no time to waste. On her feet once again, she limped slightly as she walked to the body of Sasuke and gave it a fierce kick in the ribs.

"We've been being followed this whole time...he made the switch once Sasuke was far enough away...waiting in that bush...I'm no idiot...I could see through a genjutsu like looking through a window...luckily you won't die," she told the motionless body...whoever had been disguised had passed out. She turned away and began to jog as best she could in the direction Sasuke had left, stopping to pick up the leaflets and reports on the ground. As she stuffed them in her pockets, she spoke to herself:

"And as for trying to leave me behind, Sasuke? You're _dead _when I find you."

* * *

_I tried not to make it too obvious that there had been some trickery going on..._

_Sakura kicks major ass. :P_

_I feel so bad for Anko...I know she's the one that got punched but there are other reasons...I can't hate anybody in this show except Orochimaru._

_-----_

_Sasuke: That guy did a terrible job of impersonating me._

_Sakura: It's no walk in the park to act like YOU, Sasuke-kun. _

_Sasuke: Hn..._

_Sakura: I bet I could do it though! --pouts--Look at me, I am Sasuke Uchiha. My hair is prettier than a woman's and I require a million towels when I shower, and it flooooooows in the wind!_

_Sasuke: Shut up._

_Sakura: Shut up, pink haired girl that I absolutely adoooore!_

_Sasuke: --walks off, pissed--_

_Sakura: --mimics-- Look at me! I'm brooding!_

_**XD**_


	15. Our Shadows Of Deepest Shame

_I want to know what you thought of this chapter...so review. :P_

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* * *

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**Chapter 15: Our Shadows Of Deepest Shame**

_And will the last sight I see_

_Simply have to be_

_Watching you watch me fall over the horizon?_

_Chalk this up on your tally, baby._

_I will watch you watch me._

_Ignore my screams._

_Run a bloody finger over the blackboard_

_The blackboard that illustrates life itself_

_And yet everything but._

_You hate me._

_But catch me._

"I'm going back."

His statement was met with four shocked gazes, which he shrugged off uncharacteristically and completely turned his back to the remainder of the group.

"If she fell down by the cliff...she would swim toward the nearest shore...she could have ended up–"

"For the record, she didn't _fall_, and there's a good chance that she's gone," Ino snapped harshly, still kneeling on the ground by Shikamaru, who was a bit annoyed by his injury; it was troublesome, as was everything. "Do you _want _to go down there and find something you would regret?"

"The river was what drove her to jump," Naruto interjected, "So you figure out where the river comes from and it could have an answer!"

"First of all, none of you know Tenten like I do," he said firmly, staring at the shimmering water of the river. "Second, what if we get up to the river and find nothing? We would have wasted too much time."

"There has to be something up there, Sakura knew what she was talking about," Naruto countered angrily; he was a bit wary with Sakura and Sasuke off by themselves in this place, and now that Tenten was gone, soon everybody would be on their own. Perhaps Hinata shared his sentiments, for she was constantly glancing over her shoulder, occasionally jumping from a loud cry of an animal or as if struck with a sudden chill.

"I'm not doubting what Sakura said," Lee replied passionately, and the fact that she was gone with Sasuke did not sit well with him either. "But...Tenten is my teammate and I don't believe she is dead!" His voice rang with loyalty in the clearing, across the water, and Ino looked up at him with a blank gaze.

"Go, then," she told Lee, standing and folding her arms. "Go on then, but_ I _can't come with you. Shikamaru is hurt–"

"I'm fine!"

"–and I trust Sakura. Despite the fact that we have fought to dangerous lengths, she is still my best friend, and her judgement means more to me than you would probably think, than_ she_ probably thinks."

Looking through Lee as if he had suddenly faded away, she saw the Forest of Death, the second exam, the battle with the team from the Sound Village and how she had protected Sakura. She saw the preliminaries and the Chuunin exams and everything else, she saw her final Christmas with her mother and the night Sasuke had come home and everything in between. Ino raised her eyes to Lee and they narrowed.

"And I know that you care a lot about her," she added, shaking her head slightly as she remembered it all; everything they had promised each other when young that eventually came to naught. Poor boy...although for well over a year Sakura had been the happiest girl in the world, her first love had not been her only, had hit her hardest, and still tugged desperately on her heart.

Lee had always been in second place, no matter how hard he had tried to claim first. A place that was special, but not enough and not the one.

"So go after Tenten," Ino repeated, jerking her head to indicate his direction. "But I have to find out the source of this...I don't even know what this is...everything is so messed up...and we will meet up later and hopefully we can all be together by tonight."

Hinata stared, mouth open, from Lee, who was in stony silence, to Ino.

"Alright," he muttered, shuffling a bit. "Sorry. I'll go. You'll be fine, all of you?"

Naruto opened his mouth to reassure, but it was drowned by a high-pitched scream that echoed and set Hinata shaking like a leaf. Then the crying started, wracking, heaving sobs as though a young girl tortured and caught in a situation she should have avoided. Over the last couple sobs, Lee coughed to break the awkwardness and attempt to deter attention.

"Sakura," Naruto breathed, and Lee could not deny the sound of those cries, for he knew them like he knew his name. But he had to ignore them.

"Be careful," he said in a low voice, and always polite, inclined his head to Ino and Shikamaru, then to Naruto and Hinata, who gave him a pitiful look out of fear for him. Then he turned on his heel and sprinted away, one of the fastest shinobi, the most powerful taijutsu ninja, the man that remained unbalanced in the way of the heart. Everybody mattered to him, while he only mattered to some.

"I _will _find you," he whispered to himself, ignoring the terribly familiar cries that echoed in his ears.

* * *

So Sakura listened to herself cry.

It was irking her greatly by now; she walked as fast as she could, which, due to her injury was not the speed she would normally have. Stopping every few minutes to rest her throbbing hip and thigh, she clenched her fist in anger and annoyance as her own sobs echoed around; no doubt it was another trick to make the others believe she was in terrible danger.

"Whoever the fuck is doing this..." she growled, but contented herself with a clenched jaw and continued on, following the trail of paper; occasionally she read them if a name or something caught her eye, and she sincerely hoped Sasuke didn't read them. If he did...she would know, and she would beat the living hell out of him for it too. A particularly wretched sob made her stop and scream at the sky, "Would you STOP IT?!"

Her pleads mingled with the cries and she slapped her forehead, realizing that it didn't make a difference. No doubt Lee and Naruto and the others were panicking at this moment, or trying not to. As for Sasuke, well, he had known her long enough and had definitely heard her cry enough, and she prayed that he was not fooled by this pathetic attempt at a mental distraction–

"SHUT _UP_!" she screeched, slamming her fist out into a nearby tree. It echoed with a strange sound, and the sound of roots ruthlessly torn from the dirt now erupted in the air as it swayed a bit, back and forth, only to thunder to the ground taking trees nearby down with it. Birds sung in fear and tiny mammals scurried away from their former home and leaves drifted toward the ground in silence as the dust cleared. Sakura grimaced and surveyed her knuckles.

"Ooow."

From somewhere far away she heard Sasuke cursing fluently and she rolled her eyes, scooping up another paper as she went; the heading, ironically, had his name at the top, a medical report from a few months ago.

"And he tells _me_ to watch my mouth."

* * *

"Well, you're not in trouble."

Kurenai did not raise her gaze to Kakashi's; she kept her eyes on the wooden floor, trying to focus on a small piece of dust that was dancing along by a draft she could not feel on her cold skin. Not answering or acknowledging him, she attempted to quell her shaking self by putting her hands together and in her lap; no such luck. She was such an idiot, what was she thinking?

_But she provoked me...she wanted me to do something..._

_I sound like such a child..._

Abruptly her hand went into her pocket and cold fingers clenched cold metal; this reminder of what was now a memory.

"I provided evidence as a witness of the child's death, and Tsunade correctly predicted his body failing him eventually, and the symptoms were irreversible either way. So there's no harm done," he ended cheerfully, still towering over her as she pouted in her seat.

"...Thank you..." Her pathetic thanks.

"Quite alright," he replied, smiling, the very last thing she certainly felt like doing; how could he at a time like this?

"And Anko is fine as well, although I do not know if you cared to hear–"

"Don't do that," Kurenai whispered, snubbing his attempt to lighten the situation.

"I wouldn't want to be the one on the end of that punch."

"Please, stop," Kurenai whimpered, hanging her head in her hands, fighting back tears once again; his humor, his kindness was more than she could stand, for she felt she did not deserve it. Kakashi frowned slightly, then strode to the nearby desk and dragged a chair over to sit across from her...she glanced at him through her fingers, and he waved; she giggled in spite of her tearstained face, but he slowly put down his hand, as if suddenly aware of what was doing. With difficulty the redhead raised her eyes to his and it was so hard just to look him in the face...he was doing so much for her. So much she did not deserve.

"Well, I also had something to tell you," Kakashi began quietly, staring her straight in the face; Kurenai realized she was holding her breath. She nodded, wondering if he could tell she was waiting with bated breath for...what, exactly? Was she expecting bad news? But she had an idea...

"I was assigned to travel with the team they are sending out to the city, for that mission," he began, leaning back in his chair without breaking his gaze; his knee touched hers, and she nodded for him to continue. "So I will be gone with them for a while. There is a great chance that I will come into contact with the man that was responsible...for the murder of Asuma."

Kurenai stiffened, breath still held in fear of what that could mean. The filthy excuse for a human was still walking, laughing, breathing in the sweet air that he did not deserve, the man that had murdered the only one she had ever..._truly_ cared about. Fist clenched, Kakashi watched her expression change from fairly indifferent to the anger she rightfully deserved, and the atmosphere was tense as her eyes widened a bit...she had a thirst for his flesh.

Her stupor was shattered as Kakashi leaned forward and grasped her knee firmly, getting her attention, and she was startled to find his face so close to hers, looking so terribly serious. With his calculating eye he stared right through her.

"Tsunade said it was possible, but not necessary, for another jounin to accompany me."

Kurenai swallowed and remained silent. _Is he asking me...to...?_

"Tsunade said...the decision was up to me. And I wanted to let you know I have made one. Because I know you want to come with...I understand how you must feel."

Kurenai's eyes widened in hope; she could help, and she so wanted to. Her fingers rested on his, the hand that still grasped her knee. "I will...come with you. I want to find him. I _have_ to find him."

Kakashi smirked slightly at her sudden bravery, and took his hand from underneath her thin fingers and protectively covered hers, nodding his head slightly. "I knew you would say that."

Kurenai nodded and she opened her mouth to thank him, but he cut her off–

"But you cannot come."

Silence pressed on ears in such a way it was painful to endure; Kurenai's crimson eyes narrowed dangerously, and as if she were hard of hearing she cocked her head like a dog. "I..._can't_–"

"No, you cannot come," the gray-haired man reiterated, still holding her hand firmly, yet gently in the way of someone who cared for her safety more than his own. "I would not feel comfortable with you with me. If there came a point where you were in danger and you were injured on my behalf, or someone's else's, well, that, I cannot handle."

"But," Kurenai started, beginning to shake, "you think I can't handle this?"

"Physically, you are skilled, I could not deny that. Mentally you are resilient. Emotionally, no, I do not want you to have to struggle to handle it."

Kurenai dramatically shoved her chair back, rose from it stood over him, still vibrating with passionate anger. "And so you expect me to sit back and let others avenge on my behalf? Do you think I–"

"I do not care what you think, frankly," Kakashi said firmly, rising to his feet and towering over her, an impressive move on his behalf. "Because it was my decision and I hold to it. Over and over I have had my heart torn out and shoved back in haphazardly, every time I had to let yet another man die. Asuma was someone I held in high regard, and the nature of his death was trying on me, even moreso to you. To let you rush in there out of love, foolishly? _No_."

Last word echoed like a gong in her skull. Distressed, Kurenai became red in the face from his words and her anger that was rising. His words were so genuine and true and yet, she could not help wonder...if there might be another reason...

She hung her head out of shame and let her red locks form a curtain over her flushed skin; with a strangled cry she ran past him, slamming her shoulder against him in spite as she went toward the open door.

"Kakash–WHOA!" Gai pressed himself against the wall as Kurenai slammed into him too, the noises from her throat unrecognizable as sobs or growls of anger. Footsteps echoed down the dismal corridor, running from kindness. Gai sighed and stepped over the threshold to see his friend standing in the exact same place, running his gloved hand through gray locks in frustration.

"Sorry to add more to your plate, but...Tsunade requested a meeting..."

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, looking at his rival over his shoulder; Gai was about to lie but seemed to think better of it, and sighed again.

"There's a problem...a team of ANBU officers guarding the compound were killed, and stripped of status...uniforms were taken and there were signs of forced entry to Forbidden Area 13–"

Kakashi whirled around, furious, and roughly took Gai by the sleeve and dragged him off down the hallway, not knowing whether to focus on the seriousness of the situation, the fact that Gai was still reciting details that he should pay attention to–

–Or maybe that Kurenai looked too damn beautiful when she was crying over another man.

* * *

And those needles were dangerous.

They had not caught up to the stubborn pursuer yet, but they would, and she shuddered to think...he was one of the most amazing shinobi she had ever had the pleasure of torturing, he could handle himself. She was more worried about him making it out fine and having the time to read the papers...

But for now they were catching up to _her_, manipulation of metal by man, crafted for precision and swift stealth kill. With every miss they stole another breath, a mingled sensation of relief and yet fear, telling her so; she had one more second to live, another foot pounding against the dust as she ran on raw emotion, pure fear. Adrenaline pumping through every fiber of her being masked the pain and damage she was inflicting on her leg that stung as the air whipped through her wounds, but she could not feel that either. Standing, fighting, that was suicide, and she was smart enough to realize this as she slowed just a bit, as if shifting a gear on a car, and threw her arms out behind her to put up the only defense against the needles, her chakra.

Any normal shield would have been ruthlessly shattered like glass and hers was near it; several points glinted dangerously in the overcast reflection from the sky, having embedded themselves in the wall of blue and stuck fast. But eventually they would break, and one was all it would take. The puppeteer behind the strings knew his weaponry and how to wield it as such. One in the neck...reduced to nothing but a corpse.

Dizziness swept the medic; her body was forced in limbo as it struggled to heal itself, yet endure the pain for as long as she forced herself to keep it up. She did not know the meaning of giving up, but she had once, so very long ago when a child of twelve, a stupid girl. She had wondered what made the boys act that way, so worried about being the best and fighting for pride they dare not lose...now she understood too.

She stumbled; her face nearly hit the ground but she jerked herself upright as her legs continued to move, throwing her arms out for balance–

"Shit!" she screeched, wincing as the needle ruffled the microscopic hairs on her neck, tangling within her ponytail and emerging with a decent sized chunk of pink locks that she could not feel ripped from her scalp. A reaction to fear and not to pain. Struggling to remain calm she scanned the trees as they rushed past in a dizzying blur, trying to focus on one she could–

_There!_

Without needing to stop she directed a dangerously high flow of chakra to her legs and leaped; the ground beneath her crumbled as she flipped her legs onto a tree branch and stopped for only a second, half-catching a breath she was afraid to take. No rest for the hunted. Now with the control she possessed and a bit of taijutsu training courtesy of her ex, she leapt from branch to branch, each breath let out as she hit the wood, and in the same millisecond a new one drawn.

_You stop, you die. You stop, you die._

_I stop...I die._

_Don't stop._

Vaguely she wondered how long she could keep this abuse to her body up before it forced her to quit...in this particular instance, how the mind and body separate to save itself from destruction. Pitted against opposing forces it meets steadfast resistance, but one will always break.

_I stop running...I die. I keep going...eventually I could die._

_But I can't stop. But I can't go._

_Don't stop...just go._

_Sasuke..._

* * *

As the ANBU officer took it's stealthy flight it did not look back to see where it's weapon had gone; attacked from the trees, Sasuke was flat on his back with a needle clenched point-first between his teeth and remained motionless, breath held.

When sure he was gone, he gently took his hand and removed the metallic-tasting object, tossing it aside and attempting to stand to no avail; with a curse he quelled a whimper– _I fucking disgust myself_ –and took a deep breath. Alone: Breezes spoke to him in accusing whispers and blew gales through his mind as he tried to focus on one thing, and one thing alone, being able to stand. Ever stubborn, there was no other option in sight. Tremors took over and shook him violently as he braced himself, and eventually raised himself to support his weight on mostly one side; knee shaking worse than ever, he walked slowly to the fallen messenger bag on the ground and groaned as he leaned down to pick it up. Dragging it in the dust, he let himself collapse at the base of a tree, and he stared up into the foliage above where gray swirling clouds painted the sky; he let his head fall back against the trunk and licked his bloody lips.

"All that–fucking–work for this –stupid bag–" he choked, breathing heavily as he clutched a searing stitch in his side.

His eyes were tired and closed themselves against the overcast light that burned worse than the sun...

Abruptly his hand came up to meet his face with a sharp slap; no, he couldn't fall asleep, he might as well have carved himself a headstone. Grimacing, he shook his head and stared at the tan bag in his lap that seemed to mock him. Like it had a big glowing sign stating "Look inside!".

"What's so important about you anyway?" he asked the bag, tapping his finger on the black metal clasp; on the bottom he felt the ripped seam that had left so much paperwork fly, most likely caused by the medic cramming as much as she could within it. "And how many times have I told you to not take so much work home with you? Ruins evenings..."

It continued to sit and tease him with it's mere presence.

_Well...she wouldn't know if I just thumbed through the papers...it's just some medical records...nothing terribly interesting. _

His fingers shook a bit as he fumbled with the metal clasp...he plunged a hand within the sheaf of paper and pulled out a handful; straightening them, he flipped through them, looking at the bright bold headings on each; most were ninja he had not even heard of, nothing to pique his interest–

Until a name he knew caught his eye.

"Kiba," he muttered, pulling the paper away from the rest and reading it. "Died Friday, August 13th, 12:00 am. Cause of death severe exhaustion, blood loss and fatal concussion. Witnesses See attached interviews claim he was injured a long way out from Kohona returning from Mission Black Castle; see Mission Log #34 A–G and refused medical treatment. Akamaru See "Relations", pet and partner, died at 6:00 am on Saturday, August 14th. POD: Sakura Haruno, Head Assistant Medic."

Sasuke swallowed. It was Sakura's flawless handwriting that covered this certificate of death. And he might have stopped, maybe, if the paper stuck to the back was not covered in the same handwriting, but on parchment as if ripped from a notebook, in bright green pen. Peeling it from the medical report, he saw the date at the top:

_August 14th, 2:34 am. Can't sleep, but I didn't expect to be able to._

It struck Sasuke what these must be...diary entries...his throat tightened...from when he was gone. This was a few months after he had come back, let himself collapse in her arms, and then leave again out the office window.

_So here I am again...another overnight in my newly instated post, Head Assistant Medic. This is when my job starts to kill my soul from the inside out. I have a few minutes right now; I am watching some ninja's heart monitor for stability that I really do not think is going to hold, but this is what I do and someone needs to listen...I don't have time and people don't have the ear for me to whine about my job._

_Last night was nothing short of a massacre of my childhood friends..._

_That dangerous mission they called, Black Castle...the details were so organized and yet so unsure, and while we tried everything we could it was just hopeless. I have the feeling the Sound Village received wind of our plans again, but that is life. So it goes._

_The first person I saw stumbling home in the dark was Naruto, yelling at the top of his lungs in his obnoxious way with Hinata slung–yes, slung like a sack–over his shoulders. Lifeless. It pained me to see the sweet girl in such a state, but Naruto was holding up Lee. So selfishly I breathed a sigh of relief to see them come home in one piece...but Naruto's cries were panicked, and I heard Hinata's name and someone else's...Ino's..._

_Ino was clutching a headband in her fingers along with a crumpled up chip bag, sobbing her heart out in a way that hurts to remember. Shikamaru was not with her and that sent a jolt up my spine, but eventually he came along behind, toothpick in his mouth and someone in his arms...a glint of dark glasses told me it was Shino. And even from my place behind the glass I could tell that the boy was nothing more of a corpse eaten alive, and my stomach churned so badly I had to empty the contents in a nearby sink..._

_I rushed blindly through the dark and shoved past stricken nurses and Tsunade, who was already surveying the damage, what was left to come home. But the sight of so much blood turned her away and she left._

_I shoved past more nurses that are standing around doing nothing and I tell them so; with a harshness in my voice that I'm not used to hearing, I snapped at them to get me this, start that, things that I know from experience. I don't even have to think anymore._

_The doors open automatically and Naruto was in the lead...immediately he set Hinata down and two men got a stretcher for her...for every one friend of mine that came in, about three or four people I didn't know came in. Lee attempted to comfort Tenten, who had wedged herself into a corner and refused to speak, despite his coaxing. Eventually Lee carried her into a room, set her on a bed, and had to leave her there while she was examined for head injuries. She didn't talk the entire time._

_I did things in a complete daze...Naruto was clearly the least hurt of them all and I thanked the Fox's chakra for that...Lee seemed okay too, but I had no time to talk and there was no room for him to hover. I learned later they had gone back out to make sure every ninja had made it through the Kohona gates. The smell of blood and death was disgusting and dizzying and there were times when my hand shook...which never used to happen...a couple times I was forced to put my head out the window just to breathe, just to remind me of what clean air was, and more than once my head was in the sink, retching with nothing coming up._

_The hours dragged as they continued to come...medical attention was first, questioning was later. I learned much as I had a minute here, a second there._

_Neji's body had not been recovered...he had been separated from Hinata and Tenten, the two girls he had last been seen with; Hinata said they had lost him in the dark; Tenten was still not speaking. _

_Shino was dead, and luckily I was not the one who had to pronounce him dead; I only caught a glimpse of his mangled self and Lee muttered the sorry tale to me under his breath after he passed me in the hallway; at that moment I had been rushing an officer on a stretcher. Shino had been alone, and a strange jutsu had been used on him to take control of his insects and turn the tables. He was eaten alive...by his own weapon. So it goes._

_On a two minute downtime I held Ino in my arms as she cried, telling me how Chouji was blasted apart and it was a terrible thing to digest, for she had witnessed it and nightmares were sure to accompany. She had shredded the chip bag, the only thing that was found whole of him, within her long nails during this. He was dead too._

_And probably the most painful thing of the night was the death of poor Kiba. _

_He was brought in...soaked to the skin in blood, as if he'd swam in a pool of red paint; his dog refused to leave his side and Akamaru's nails were clicking on the tile as he followed his master, leaving giant prints on the floor from the blood. _

_I was so tired...I remember rubbing my eyes again and again to get rid of the crust and when I sat him on the table he grabbed my shoulders and stared at me, so frighteningly..._

"_Sakura," he croaked, shaking as he held me, and I hushed him, told him to conserve his energy, but he knew and I knew it was too late. _

"_Sakura," he repeated again... "I heard about...him..."_

"_About...who?" I asked, closing my eyes. I didn't want to hear the answer. I didn't want to hear about that heartless bastard. _

"_He's coming back..."_

"_Why? WHY?!" I screamed, holding him tightly; the disgusting excuse for a shinobi that had stomped ruthlessly on my heart was dragging his sorry ass back here? What the fuck for? _

_Kiba had only the strength to murmur a few more nothings and then fell back, head slamming onto the table with an echoing sound; his breathing began to slow and still I held him in my arms, trying to satisfy my guilty curiosity._

"_Why?" I whispered, pressing my lips against his neck. "He hates me. I hate him."_

_Kiba shook his head and swept a tear from my cheek. "No...he doesn't hate you." _

_And then he died in my arms._

_I haven't slept since then...I just can't. Too many were lost that night...and I've been scarred terribly. I'm lucky I have Lee and Naruto and Kakashi...eventually that might be all I have left. And my mother...I love you, mother. I love you Naruto, my best friend, and Lee, you, who would do anything for me, and my Kakashi-Sensei, for teaching me. _

_And you...heartless bastard...pathetic excuse for a man...I just..._

_I** hate** loving you._

Sasuke stared at the words over and over again, shocked; frantically, he began shoving the other papers back into her back, shaking his head to get rid of the things she had said...but it was impossible. They were written on paper and etched there to stay in green pen, in flawless handwriting that wrote the deaths of many in the records.

Neji was gone.

Chouji was dead.

Shino was dead.

Kiba was dead.

And the thing was, they had seemed to know his whereabouts...the whereabouts of the former Orochimaru and members of the Akatsuki. What had Kiba heard, what had any of them heard while he had been gone? Was that mission...to gather information...on what _he_ had been up to?

A paper with his name on the top, a medical report, dated and completely filled out poked out from within the pile; seething, he held it tightly in his fingers and was angry, beginning to see red...

"_You can't tell anyone I was here, Sakura, anyone, understand?"_

"_It's my job, Sasuke. I can help you."_

"_No one can help me. Swear to me you won't utter a word to anyone."_

"_And risk my job? And risk my life? Betray for _you_?"_

But when he'd pressed his lips to hers, he'd asked in the only way he'd known how. And when she stupidly let herself kiss him back, she sobbed herself to sleep in the corner of her office, watching him leave her yet again in the moonlight, out her window, still limping slightly as he went.

And months later, that same year, he'd returned on Christmas Eve, of all nights.

To hurt her all over again. To push Lee and her apart, to move in with her and sever ties with her mother. That was all him.She might have turned the report in and they would track him down, but she did not reveal that he had been back in Kohona. She had shoved it away and tried to forget what she had done. That kiss had sustained her for the months after.

He could still taste her on his lips from so long ago.

And there was no doubt she could taste him when she sat, huddled and alone, in the corners she longed to disappear in. In the shadows of her shame.

For once, he was flushed and flooded with shame as well. For going in her bag in the first place, for doing what he'd done three years ago, for coming back and from the sounds of it, ruining her entire life and everything she'd had going for her. And that was what he was still doing; back in Kohona, living his life as a labeled traitor, enduring the hate of all and still hellbent on revenge, remembering his brother.

He leaned his head back; his gaze slid out of focus as he stared up at the sky, a one-colored blanket of gray. "Sakura..."

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH**!"

Her scream was his instantaneous heart attack; if hearts died when they stopped, his would have been long gone; a sound so close, his head jerked upward to see a body falling through the branches, back bending painfully over the lowest before falling heavily into his lap–

Sakura's round jade eyes were full of the utmost shock as she stared up into nothing, shaking violently and writhing in his lap; she held her bloody hand in front of her face, mouth agape, still in an uncontrollable seizure.

"My god, Sakura!" he hissed, cradling her head in the crook of his elbow and pushing the bloody, matted hair off her forehead. "Are you alright?"

She did not answer, but her shaking slowed and she held out her forearm and wrapped her fingers around the needle embedded in her flesh...Sasuke reached for it but she yanked it out without changing expressions and let it fall from her fingers to the ground–

"Sakura," he murmured, sweeping his thumb over her bleeding eyebrow...in her quivering fingers she now held one of her diary entries, her signature handwriting of perfection in vibrant green ink. Her gaze locked on his.

"Sakura I–"

**SLAP.**

Sasuke flinched from her hand but did not get a chance to speak–

**SLAP.**

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

**SLAP.**

"I'm–!"

**SLAP.**

His apologies were useless.

"YOU _LIKE_ REMEMBERING? YOU LIKE RELIVING WHAT YOU DID TO ME, YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING?"

Her hand was centimeters from his cheek when reflexes kicked in; he held her bloody wrist tightly, and she pursed her lips; she spit in his face.

"Okay...maybe I...sort of...deserved that," Sasuke stuttered, wiping the saliva from his face.

"Does it make you feel good about yourself, reading that? That I cried in a corner after I promised you what you _never_ deserved?" she spat; his hand went for the pressure point on her neck but her other hand came up; he went for that and she wormed her first wrist out of his grasp and slammed that fist into his jaw. "You _bastard_. Nice try. It's been a while."

"I didn't like it, okay!" Sasuke shouted in her face, still cradling her head in his arm; his eyes surveyed her, up and down: so bloody, so scratched, so broken, yet here she was beating the crap out of him on her last legs when she could simply go to sleep and heal herself.

_Be gentle...come on Sasuke..._

"You're an idiot, you know that? A pink-haired–" Sasuke shoved her off his lap and pinned her on the ground, screaming in her face. "Annoying–little girl–" insults tumbled off his lips faster and harsher than he'd hoped, "–Bitchy sarcastic kunoichi who doesn't know when the fuck she's _beaten_!"

Sakura kneed him in the groin.

_What the fuck was that? _

_What?_

_THAT WAS NOT FUCKING GENTLE!_

_So I might have deserved that too._

The stoic man collapsed on her, face screwed up in pain, head resting on her breast; his breathing collided with hers, for his was deep and heavy and hers, quick and shallow. Sasuke raised himself on shaking arms and clutched a searing pain in his side, letting himself straddle her as he unsuccessfully quelled his moans of pain. The look on her face told him he deserved to be killed, but she was running out of energy, for she leaned back and tried to let her breathing fall into a steady rhythm as Sasuke continued to claw at his side, growling. After a moment, Sakura raised herself on her shaking elbows and slid her hand up his shirt, healing the wound in his side.

In thanks, he took her arm and slammed her into the dirt again.

"STOP IT!" he hissed. "You're a lot worse off than me and so you sit here and put stress on yourself _again_!"

"Yeah, get off me," Sakura said, ignoring his outburst; he slid off her and she slowly rolled over onto her stomach, breathing shallowly. Whimpering, she curled her knees under her and planted her feet into the dirt; Sasuke stood and watched in horror as she eventually, finally, pulled herself to her feet and stood.

And then she began to walk. Sasuke's face was contorted in anger, in amazement, in pity and horror as she held her head high and slowly limped in the opposite direction, toward a drop-off which surveyed a large area of the compound; below was a thick canopy of trees that blocked sunlight. He let her get to the edge and look out, nearly crying, before slowly going to her and turning her roughly to look at him.

"What is wrong with you? What are you trying to prove?"

"I'm going to make it. I'm going to do this. I'm going to find my teammates and we're all getting out safely," she whispered, using the little energy she possessed to raise her arms and attempt to shove him away, but all it did was make her eyes close and knees give way. But this time when she fell, Sasuke caught her the best he could and held her to him, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Why?"

"Because...I want to prove myself to you."

"Don't."

"You stupid–sexist–pig," she choked, still clinging to him as if her life depended on it. In a burst of defiance, she let go of him and backed up, not realizing how close she was to the edge.

"Sakura–"

**SCHWOO.**

**And so storms of needles break the silence**

**In which I think of you**

**The tugging notion I endure**

**In the heat of the moment too**

He felt each needle fly past him, so dangerously close; one on each side of his neck and one on each side, whistling past too fast for him to comprehend until Sakura cried out, the force carrying her back and over the edge, limp body sliding down the rocky dirt sides that let into the heart of the forest; he looked furiously over his shoulder and could not find the ability to breathe. They had hit her...with him there...he'd _let_ them hurt her–he was horrified as he tried to catch his worthless breath and was about to jump over for her when a well-placed needle effectively went into his spine and he collapsed to his knees, sliding headfirst down the dirt sides.

**Whistling past a mind fargone**

**When all seems terribly lost**

**Delving within all you missed**

**Let what lies beneath–this love–kill the frost.**

And for how long he slid he did not know, but when he came to rest he spit the dirt and blood from his mouth and opened his eyes a slit and saw Sakura, curled in a ball and hugging her thigh full of wounds close to her chest; the ground felt moist against his flaming cheek.

Painfully, he dragged his broken body to her; every inch felt like a mile, and eventually he collapsed beside her curled up body and he felt his breathing begin to slow. With gentle arms he carefully held her to himself...he would still protect her, though he had so obviously failed.

"I'm sorry," Sakura murmured, putting her hand on the cheek she had viciously slapped...four times.

"Hn," he replied, the only adequate answer he would give her before letting himself slip into unconscious...

And the last thing he felt as her shallow breathing against his chest.

Now it was in unison.

* * *

_How was that?_


	16. Oh, The Beat Of Your Heart

Oy, everybody, it's like 4 days before Christmas...so I'm letting you know right now that this is your last update for at least a week, maybe more, because once I go back to school it's finals. --mock cheer--. I have to shop and spend time with family. --twitch--.

Anyway, 'nuff 'bout my personal life...

You're going to get your first little look at what the Akatsuki have been up to in their long absence thus far in the story. Yay!

And you guys are probably going to hate me for the end of this chapter...:P

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 16: Oh, The Beat of Your Heart...**

"_Oh Lee-ee!" Sakura sang, rocking side to side as she balanced so easily on the tree branch; Lee ceased his furious punches that he had been throwing at Tenten, with Neji watching on the sidelines, and sprang to her attention. Tenten seemed almost grateful for the break and Neji, smirking, confronted her immediately, intent on correcting her technique and to grant the taijutsu master a little time alone with his significant other. Lee stared up within the foliage and wrinkled his nose as a cherry blossom petal landed on it. _

"_Lee-ee," she whispered, falling back and hanging from the branch upside-down with her knees; she giggled and placed her feet on the bark, now completely unsupported. _

"_You are really something, Sakura," he murmured lovingly, yet still conducting himself with military discipline as he stood straight. _

"_At ease, soldier," she joked, walking around the branch and facing him once again, where he rested a bit, but not enough; Sakura pouted childishly and Lee seemed worried._

"_What?"_

_Sakura smiled slyly at him and beckoned him with a finger; he surveyed her nervously as she jumped down from the branch and continued to look at him seductively, lips twisted in a devilish grin. When he was within her grasp she jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and laughing loudly...he was strong, he could hold her, and he laughed and twirled her around. _

"_Oh loosen up," she whispered softly, gently kissing his neck. "Come on, Lee," she added, planting her lips right on his, tasting him; after a moment he complied and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss as he tasted her back, everything that was his Sakura. _

"_We're leaving, Lee," Tenten called quietly, frowning slightly, but shook it off her face and instead took Neji by the arm, who did not protest. Slowly they walked away, enjoying each other and leaving others to feel the same._

"_I'm so proud of you, you know," Sakura murmured, pulling away slightly and nuzzling her nose against his cheek; Lee tilted his head. _

"_Why?"_

"_I just always remember how they thought they all though you would never fight again...that those preliminaries were your last fight...but you showed them, you proved them all wrong," Sakura said, holding him closer. Lee's expression seemed almost painful as he himself remember the road to recovery. But he replaced it with a grin, placed one more kiss on Sakura's lips, and spun her around; placing his hands on her hips, he easily lifted her over his shoulders and head and sat her on the former. Giggling, she wrapped her legs around his neck._

"_Where to, Sakura?" _

"_Let's go see Ino," the girl said, pointing through the trees toward the town._

"_As Sakura wishes," Lee said dramatically, puffing out his chest and beginning to sprint with her on his shoulders; she continued to laugh and nearly felt dizzy, but that was okay. Everything was okay when she was with him..._

_Sakura was in love...giddy and struck down by Cupid himself...nothing could ever change it, at least, that was how she felt at first..._

_She never thought, never realized that it would change...sadly, for the worse._

_That same night Kakashi and Naruto were sitting in the living room in a terribly awkward silence; Sakura had come home to receive a letter addressed to her in the handwriting that she would always recognize, when she had been a child and looked over his shoulder as he wrote. She was smart, it was never to copy, just to admire even the littlest thing about him. Now she was in her room, the corner, specifically; she had attempted to cook dinner to no avail, for she had been in such a bad mood that she had splattered the kitchen window with her latest dish. She said her hand had slipped._

_Naruto rose from his chair but Kakashi warned him with a dangerous look; Naruto ignored it and slowly walked up the stairs, trying to keep his footsteps quiet; a picture caught his attention. A picture of Sasuke and Sakura. Sasuke looked as though he wanted to knock himself out as Sakura hung on him and smiled widely...if only Sasuke hadn't been blushing furiously as he was struggling to keep his gaze away from Sakura's low shirt...it had been the peak of summer._

_Naruto _almost_ felt like laughing._

_**KNOCK KNOCK.**_

"_Sakura?"_

_Silence._

"_Sakura?"_

"_Yes, Naruto?" Her voice was a bit higher than usual and he knew exactly where she would be sitting; in her corner. _

"_You okay? You want anything?"_

"_No...I think I'll just go to bed. I'm fine."_

_While he knew it was a lie, he frowned at the floor. "'Night."_

"_Goodnight."_

_He went into his own room, wondering what the letter said._

_And sure enough, Sakura was in her little corner, knees pulled up to her chest...she had not cried like this in months and she could honestly say that she had not had one nightmare depicting his death for a long time. But why did he have to contact her at all? She watched a teardrop soak the parchment and obscure the one sentence that he had taken the time to write. And she knew if he had taken the time at all, it obviously meant something, for things he truly meant were said so rarely._

_In glittering black ink...she ran her fingers over the drop that obscured the words and looked out the window at the gorgeous moon that hung in the pitch-black sky; a glow of light shone on the horizon that was from the city. In summer, everyone was out later and the city never slept._

_The words burned themselves on her eyes...so heartfelt yet cold, so much yet so little. The sarcasm warmed her, yet brutally killed her. Who knew that words could hold emotion and loneliness?_

"_**Just wondering...if you were still there."**_

–_**Sasuke.**_

"_Yes...I'm still here, Sasuke. I'll always be here. Where would I go?"_

* * *

Sasuke vaguely remembered scratching out that sentence in the dead of night as he sat on a peaked roof in the middle of nowhere, staring at the moon...absentmindedly wondering if she happened to be looking at it too. The cold breeze not touching him because he was so cut off from society that it was nothing, he was numb to it. But in his fingers he had clutched a small scrap of parchment, the nth one he had ripped and scratch and torn, not being able to find the words. And soon he had found himself wishing for a reply. But she never had...and he received nothing but another cold wind that carried the last cherry blossom of the end of summer...

And yet that was all he needed to look forward to. He had known the plot culminating behind his back...his mentor was ready to betray him and Sasuke was ready to take that, and soon he would have to go back. No matter what they called him.

**Whilst seasons change**

**Frost-covered waves explode against**

**Stones**

**A piece of the whole**

**The statue that you are.**

He remembered the exact tone, the torturously familiar way she had said his name...

"Sasuke...please...are you awake?"

Just like she was saying it now, when she had been pleading him not to go.

"Can you wiggle your fingers? Can you move anything, at all?" she said in a shaky voice, and pushed the hair off his forehead.

"What kind...of question...is that?" Sasuke choked out, opening his eyes slowly to let everything take it's time focusing; the ceilings were high and dancing with ominous shadows; she was leaning over him, face so obviously tearstained and he could see every wrinkle on her beautiful face, but her eyes...purple bags and heavy-lidded out of exhaustion.

Swallowing, she picked up his hand and held it in front of him, and began to bend the fingers and he would have jumped out of shock if he was able to; he did not feel it. As if he were skeptical, he confidently tried to sit up; he did not move.

"Sasuke," she said quietly, putting a hand on his chest; his face was contorted in anger at himself and he growled.

"Take my hand!" he snapped, wishing he could feel the said hand. She stared at him.

"Wha–"

"Do it!"

Sakura quickly complied and held his strong, calloused hand between each of hers and squeezed. And squeezed. Her expression became panicked, while his became stonier with every second she sat, now digging her nails into his flesh; he couldn't feel the skin breaking from the force, the blood now seeping down, staining her fingers.

"No," she whispered, beginning to shake. "NO!"

Sasuke sighed and let his head fall back onto the shirt that was bunched under his head to serve as a pillow; it was Sakura's.

"Sasuke," she repeated, biting her lip to keep it from trembling, holding his hand to her face and not looking at him. "You can't move at all?"

The look in his eyes was enough, and he was ashamed for being hurt...it pained her to see him this way.

"Oh god...of course...it sent the poison in your central nervous system and now...you're..."

"Say it, woman," he breathed, closing his eyes and shivering slightly.

"You're paralyzed."

* * *

"We have to take them out."

It had been a long time since all the jounin had gathered to face their Hokage, and now they nodded in respect to their leader and let her continue; her gaze was set in anger.

"I want whoever broke in there brought in _immediately_. I want to know where they're from, how many, and I want every single young shinobi brought in _unharmed_."

Her words echoed in tense silence around the room; in unison, the crowd nodded in assent and, still together in every simple movement, disappeared in a puff of smoke that only partially obscured Tsunade's face, etched with lines of anger. The jounin were to remain in the city for protection against...whatever. Vaguely remembering her absurd strength, she contented herself with folding her arms and grinding her teeth.

"And god forbid they're hurt...I swear I'll go in myself."

She didn't know exactly who was behind this, and it irked her more to know that all this was occurring under her nose and she had no clue. All she had found was a headband from the Sound Village. But they had disbanded in the last confrontation...there was just not enough proof.

The metal was crushed as she clenched it tightly in her powerful fist, and she dropped it to the floor; the afternoon light caught the shards and cast prisms across the floor, dancing in a way so carefree that it nearly killed the woman to watch.

* * *

**So we watch them **

**And they watch you**

**Killing.**

**Eventually the immunity shrouds**

**You**

**Like a blanket.**

**Still there,**

**But Ignored.**

A place where blood runs cold.

A place where days run together, and there is no such thing as a terrifying night, a dawning day...at any time you may be snatched from your stove, the cradle, the field, and then you are gone. No one will question the circumstances and families are forbidden to cry at your side, because bodies are never found and it is never spoken of. You must never defy...the punitive for such an act is nothing less than eternal torture; eventually, begging for death is what _might_ get you out.

"Mama..."

"SHUT UP, Yize."

"But...they be tooken Michael!"

"SHUTUP!" the mother hissed, delivering a swift backhand to her daughter's flushed cheek; she wailed and a couple of other children, barely dressed and cowering in shadows out of sight, cringed in fear as they always did. There was no sympathy, or kindness, or sharing. The eldest girl recovered instantly and kept herself silent.

When darkness fell no one could work, so they were forced to remain in their homes, which were kept unlatched as a rule. You could not hide anything, no privacy was tolerable. _He_ knew everything.

"Mama...I be missin' Hikari somethin'–"

"DINT I TELL YOU TO BE QUIET?!" she shrieked, striking her daughter again...the girl crawled away and huddled with her younger siblings, shaking her head sadly as her mother picked up an already cracked dish and flung it across the dirt floor; predictably, it shattered. As if called did numerous insects migrate toward the broken saucer and the liquid that had been on it, now soaking the dirt, precious food that should not have been wasted. Yet it was only fit the for the creatures that walked under their feet, but here, this major outskirt of a city where they had nothing, they were worth nothing too.

"She be gone...gone forever now...an' 'im glad I sen' her when 'a did," the mother said in a wretched whisper, holding a filthy handkerchief, once white, to her breast. Spotting a rat, she picked up a stone from the floor and threw it in anger at the hissing creature; it glared at her with fierce eyes, stole a piece of stale bread from the floor, and disappeared in a shadow that was always in the house. No electricity or oil to burn or candles or matches.

"Anawhere...anawhere better 'n here."

"I don' wanna be here," the eldest, Yize, sobbed, hugging tightly to the two siblings she had left, both too young and too innocent; Michael had been taken that day, and she was frightened...they could come for any of them next. They were ruthless, they did not spare women and children. And Hikari was now a long way away in a city where hopefully she had been given another chance at life. It was just bad luck they were here now.

"What iffen they fin' out?" one tiny boy squeaked, and his mother rounded on him, eyes glittering.

"They won'. I sen' her out whilst they was lynchin' Marline. They din' know, they din'."

The mother coughed and spat on the ground, trying to keep the horrible memory of the lynching, or what she had seen of it, out of her mind. Trees rustled and spoke whispers of warnings that she could not comprehend, or would ignore. Silence was the last thing you wanted to hear in this town where nobody could care about anyone else.

Marline had been lynched for defiance; she had uttered a curse on the man that was everywhere, that walked the streets and carried the murder of many on his shoulders, that controlled every aspect of their lives you could imagine. It was nothing to him; some hit the ground in horror while children cried, and nothing phased him. Nothing could.

**KNOCK.**

One rap on the battered, barely hinged door sent the children into hysterics that could have been heard four huts down; Yize clutched her siblings to her and hid her face, terrified, muttering, praying, anything. The mother let her back fall against the poorly made wall and slid down it, a ghost of the pearliest white in the darkness; the lank hair on the top of her head barely grazed the sill of the window she sat under, glancing up at the open, the unknown night.

**KNOCK.**

They never spoke unless need be. Shaking, the mother gulped and closed her eyes. "Which one?"

Yize slapped her dirty hands over her siblings' eyes as she struggled not to watch through her own; a hand had reached through the open window and picked her mother by tangled, filthy mess that was her hair. Suspended off the ground; bare feet barely touching the dirt floor.

"Where is your daughter?" he said, calmly and dangerously; Yize bit her tongue so hard that she could taste the blood.

"Right there," her mother replied, pointing a long finger at Yize, who uttered an 'eep!' and began to shake.

"The little blonde one."

"I've never had a little blonde child...perhaps–"

"Just take her," another voice said; the mother struggled within the man's grasp and faced him.

"No...not _you_..."

A quiet chuckle.

"Yes, me," the second voice said, monotonously, emotionless, yet it struck such fear in any person's heart. This man who had taken her son Michael just that morning for their twisted testing and tactics, and that was why she had sent Hikari with a letter out before she could be caught...with hope.

"Just kill her," the second voice continued. "She doesn't need to be alive for this experiment anyway. I highly doubt there was any way she could have gotten a mere child past our borders."

_That's what **you** think, _the mother thought, but blinked away tears as the grip on her hair became tighter; Yize did not move, did not even breathe–

The hand slammed her mother's face down on the poorly made windowsill; her face, or what was left of it from his absurd strength, was nothing but a smashed portrait of crimson that flowed profusely from her broken nose; the lack of medical treatment would leave her soon dead.

The body slumped on the sill and crumpled to the dirt floor; again, the creatures began to swarm as though they were called by the scent of fresh blood, and the hand retreated out the window. Yize still had her breath held in dizzying terror, while her siblings were crying a child's whining, panicked cry that drew no air. But without taking the body, Yize heard them leave in their typical fashion, a whirl of leaves...

One fluttered in the window, twirling over and over itself in midair before coming to rest on the mother's mauled face.

But they were not far...in the deadly silence they strode across the dirt, cloaks kicking up tell-tale clouds of dust and the moon, almost with a tinge of red, hovering above the town of worthlessness.

"I thought you needed the body, my Lord," a voice said, shattering the accurately depicted silence of constant fear.

And Itachi spoke without remorse, without sympathy, without emotion once again:

"I have plenty to choose from."

* * *

**Shadows dance**

**Formed by the little fire**

**That burns on the ground**

**in your eyes**

**In your heart as you**

**Struggle.**

**What else could go wrong?**

"Turn off that damn light! Can't you _see_ it's blinding me?"

Sakura ignored him, slowly moving her finger down the page as she mouthed the words silently to herself, finding nothing to help her. None of her books were of use, and this was the very last one she had brought with her.

"TURN IT OFF! IT BRINGS THE FLIES IN!" he yelled, slapping at the air as if beating away invisible locusts; there was nothing there but him, her, a fire and the darkness from outside. Without speaking, she slammed the book shut and tossed it aside, sorely tempted to throw it in the flames, and firmly grasped Sasuke's wrist. His panicked cries echoed off the stone walls in this little cave that they were forced to make their temporary home until she could figure out how to help him...or until someone came to help them. Not that she was fine herself; her condition was steadily worsening as time progressed, and falling asleep was not an option.

"Go awaay," he whined, closing his eyes and still pathetically hitting the air...eventually his hand fell to the dirt and his shaking began again...it brought tears to Sakura's eyes...

By simply touching her hand to his forehead, she knew his body temperature and he had a dangerously high fever that would not go down...the needle had been removed and he was now wrapped in any blankets Sakura had with her, a couple serving as a pillow...but they were kicked off every half hour when he fell into a fit of screaming. It hurt her to even touch him, to hold him down, and she suffered injuries from the strength he could not control...

Her books had not helped in the slightest...all she was sure of that his heartbeat was wildly fast and that if she did not slow it down, his heart would just eventually give out.

Sakura placed her hand completely over his forehead and tried to concentrate the cooling sensation to her fingers; Sasuke tried to push away from her; the paralysis had been temporary, leaving his frightening condition with symptoms that were only sporadic.

"You're hurting me!" he yelled, eyes still shut, worming away from her with his limited strength; she splayed her fingers across his chest and held him down shaking as she did so...

With a cry of fury he wrapped one hand around her upper arm, the other around her forearm and nearly snapped her elbow had she not instinctively drove her knee into his side; Sasuke cried out in pain and recoiled, but Sakura was driven by such fury that she slapped him across the face.

"STOP!" she shrieked, using the heel of her hand to sweep blood and tears from her cheek; he did not know where he was, he could not control what his injuries were reducing him to...delirium. Realizing this, she pulled away and cradled his head in her lap, biting her lip.

"I'm sorry...I'm_ so_ sorry..."

He jerked a bit in her grasp; she felt his forehead again, now horrified, and on instinct felt his pulse...now speeding up at an alarming rate. Sakura stood and let him fall to the dirt, grabbing handfuls of her hair and tugging on it...he was...going to die. If she did not do something, he would _die_. But she did not know what she could possibly do...the fever would not go down, she had no medicine that would help, his symptoms matched absolutely nothing she knew how to treat, and she possessed so much knowledge that it was killing her to feel this way...

Now his breathing sped up and still she held her hair, closing her eyes and shaking her head, trying to make the sounds of his death stop. But it was the nightmare that haunted her so many times–

"Who DID THIS TO YOU?!" she screamed to the ceiling, ears full of her own high-pitched voice of panic. "WHO THE_ FUCK_ DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, DOING THIS TO HIM?" she shrieked, sinking to her knees, still ignoring his alarmingly fast-paced breathing, which meant his heartbeat was fast too...and soon it would be out of control...

Unless...she stopped it.

She ceased the frantic pulling of her hair and bit down on her knuckle...

_There's no way to slow it down...the poison has already done it's job...if I can slow the heartbeat, slow his breathing...but I can't slow it...I have to stop it. If I can get his body to completely reset itself...the immune system might have a second chance to fight it off...but to stop his heartbeat...I'd have to send it through his entire nervous system...to restart everything..._

So many 'what if's'...no time to think about it.

She ran to him and kneeled, carefully sitting him up as his head lolled on his shoulder and removed his shirt quickly; as she yanked it over his head, he blinked a couple times and seemed to recognize, vaguely, where he was. "Sakura..." he whispered.

"Shh," she replied quietly, pushing him down to lay once again, feeling his pulse. It was still wildly out of control, and now the convulsions struck him again. "This will work. I can help you."

"You're hurting me–"

"For the love of God, don't have an attack _now_!" she screamed, knowing full well it was not his fault...sure enough, he began to writhe beneath her and she punched him in the chest–

"Stop...they're everywhere–"

"Shut up shut up shut up–"

"You're hurting me..."

Sakura put on a determined face and straddled him, jamming her knees on his forearms so he couldn't push her off...he was strong, and she was about to summon the little strength she had left...she was so angry...but she had to push it away now...

_One good shock should do it...good thing, 'cause it's all I have left._

Once again she splayed her fingertips across his flaming chest and concentrated: His screaming, the crackling of the fire, the painful echoes slowly faded away as she ignored all that existed to summon everything she had left...focused...almost being able to hear his out of control heartbeat...warmth that had been keeping her weak body going retreated from her limbs, the last place energy was needed when struggling to stay alive...past her knees and the thigh that was numb anyway, all flood through her straightened arms that began to shake...for the powerful chakra she possessed had nowhere to go, and it filled her hands with the warmth that had so ruthlessly cut off from every other part of herself...

"Oh Sasuke..."

"It _hurts_..."

"You won't...hurt anymore..."

One single tear escaped from beneath her eyelids and fell onto his face that she stared at, contorted still in such terrible pain that he thought in his poisoned mind she was dealing him.

"These things I do for you," she whispered, now violently vibrating to keep herself upright from the lack of strength within...all the strength she would put into this last shock.

_Do it..._

"You tried so hard to save me...I _will _save you."

She brought her hands up a couple feet, swallowed, and slammed the heels of her hands into his chest, the blue glow of her chakra like a beacon in the dim light.

His screams echoed painfully in her ears that heard nothing; his body shuddered and jerked in response from the powerful shock that she had given him, that coursed through every vein, every nerve, every fiber of his being...his breathing stopped and fell still...Sakura crumpled on top of him, having only the strength to feel his pulse...but she lost consciousness, not even knowing if his heart had restarted.

Not even knowing if what she had done had worked.

Not knowing if she had saved him...

Or killed him.

* * *

Itachi is SO badass. Agree with me.

Anyway, to let you know if you couldn't connect it, the girl Hikari that was sent from that little village that has been completely taken over by the Akatsuki and it's followers, so her mother smuggled her out so she had a chance to live. Hikari is the same little blonde girl that cannot walk now, in Kohona. Notice the similar speech patterns? They're a small, uneducated town that /were/ fine until infiltrated.

Anyway enough giving stuff away.

Review!


	17. Sour Seventeen

_This chapter's pretty short, but it's actually pretty important. It sets the stage for the next chain of events, so you know, pay attention, especially for Sasuke and Sakura at the end, 'cause in the next few chapters...--evil chuckle--, well, I'll stop giving away stuff now._

_And I would like to thank my reviewers so far:_

_Rainingblood666, darkbastet596, aedsax shiroyuki, Rusti Cherries, Caiti --lo__ve you babe!--, Jennjennr, Poison's Ivy, flowerangel050, Heavenly Bow, cha cha dancer, Names Are Hard, Kawaii kitty-chan, jmj102, janey09, __Moiraine, __Belinda, smileforme x3, Kansi-a-lari, 4everDestined, GunzGoBangg, Ren004, nejitenlee13, Crystal Koneko, Fiestywriter, itachisgirl101, Laura-chan, Missy Anonymous, The Lovely Decline, RisuBento, runwithskizzers, Bundyangel, and finally, keturapmax. If I forgot anybody, I apologize profusely because there's so many people! 0.0_

_And lyrics are "Seventeen Ain't So Sweet" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, one of my absolute favorite bands!_

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 17: Sour Seventeen**

Gai raised an eyebrow to the ceiling as he heard a loud moan from above...but it came from outside, the roof specifically...he looked at Tsunade, who shrugged.

"Quiet now...we're supposed to be on duty..."

Thoroughly embarrassed, the redhead was thankful for the darkness so he could not see the fierce flush that had taken over her neck and face. Well, it _had_ felt good.With a devilish grin she leaned her head back on his broad shoulder and sighed, breathing the crisp air in deep and found herself absentmindedly wishing for his touch again. As if he had read her mind, he rested his strong chin on top of her head and asked, "Feeling any better?"

She made a noise that sounded like an agreement and he replied with a similar sound.

Kurenai made a strange noise, the contented murmur of a cat as her skin exploded; experienced, cold fingers colliding with the surface of her warm skin and she grabbed his vest. While he was so different from the man she had used to let do this for her...she guessed, maybe, there were similarities...

The very thought of him brought tears to her eyes, and Kakashi raised an eyebrow when he heard her sniffle. "Did that hurt?"

"No, no," she whispered, closing her eyes and scolding herself again for her tears. "Not at all."

The gray-haired man did not answer, but concentrated on rotating the base of his thumbs on the back of her shoulders... "Don't tense."

"Sorry," she apologized, willing herself to relax, but it was so very difficult...part of her begged for the break while part of her, a side that was normally kept deep within the recesses of her heart, stirred fitfully...he struck a certain nerve and Kurenai arched her back in delight that she almost felt guilty for experiencing. Kakashi did not seem to mind, and every so often he would roughly work that one spot on the back of her neck to get the kink out...at least, that's what the woman assumed.

"Better now?" he asked genially, grinning his lazy grin as he removed his hands from her; his touch still lingered on her burning flesh. "The way you spoke to Tsunade I thought you might have clawed her throat out."

Kurenai stifled a laugh and replied, "I know...it's just that she is tense too and having people on edge everywhere won't help this situation..."

"You get those a lot? Neck pains?" Kakashi asked in curiosity.

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded her head. "When I'm stressed. Of course, it's been a long time since..." Trailing off, the woman stood up and stretched her arms to the sky as if her fingertips were able to brush the clouds; the man couldn't help eyeing her up and down before sighing and getting to his feet also, running a gloved hand through his gray locks and seeming older than ever as he stared past Kurenai into the seductive temptress, the unknown night.Far away did the gurgles of the coveted river sound, as did the occasional rustle of ANBU Black Ops reporting here and there, moving in a constant rotation as they had been ordered. Lights dotted the blank horizon, yellow on black like a painting, flickering every so often. He would memorize this...anything to keep himself from looking at her any more than he could help.

"We really _should_ pay attention," Kurenai whispered, sounding a bit guilty for their obvious lack of devotion to their job, although she'd never admit that falling into a world of relaxation and ignorance of blatant plight had been nice, and twice so with him massaging her neck and shoulders.

"Actually, it's about time we checked in," Kakashi said, still staring out at the stars, turning his back to her; without thinking, she did the same, and in unison their fingers went through the familiar motions to take them inside.

In the room below the two jounin appeared in the signature fashion of a tornado of swirling leaves; Tsunade and Gai looked up to see them enter, both with serious expressions.

"Anything?" Tsunade demanded, fingers splayed on the desk and frighteningly white.

"Sectors 14 thru 14H were consistently clear, nothing to note," Kurenai said quietly, while Kakashi grinned down at her. Gai gave him a strange look, and Tsunade nodded, too full of her own thoughts to care enough.

"Fine then. A group of Black Ops will take the shift from now to 3:00...you're off now, but Kakashi," she said, acknowledging him specifically, "the head count is now 6...only two members of the group are still out there."

"Who's characters?"

"Hinata's and Shikamaru's," Tsunade said, surveying the clipboard on the desk in front of her with an exhausted gaze. "But we have squads hot on their trail down in the south...the tropics...they must have headed early to their destinations. If they make it to the city down there, they're home free, and I worry about how this could fall apart if–"

"It _won't_ fall apart,"Kurenai interrupted. "They won't be able to make it through down there with our military on their tracks."

"I still worry," Tsunade said, grimacing at the paperwork and standing up to gaze out the window. "Anko with her damned temper...heard she nearly killed the last one."

Kakashi could almost hear Kurenai tense as the name left Tsunade's lips...Gai noticed this also, and gave his rival a very significant look. The gray-haired ninja put a firm hand on the woman's shoulder and squeezed.

"See you in a few hours," Kakashi said, and steered Kurenai out the door; Gai followed.

"Kakashi," Gai said immediately, fixing him with that same searching look that Kakashi had endured through that whole conversation.

"Something you need to discuss?" he asked lazily, removing his hand from Kurenai's shoulder. She watched them carefully as they exchanged words without opening mouths, as friends and as rivals. Gai looked at the expression on Kurenai's face and seemed to change his mind.

"Later," he said quietly, and jerked his head in a friendly goodbye, nodding toward the door. They exchanged yet another look hich was clearly driving the woman crazy, and Kakashi surprised her by taking her hand.

"Where are we going? What about–"

"We're going to have that drink," Kakashi interrupted, still grinning as if he had a secret.

"Drink?"

Kakashi reached his long arm in front of her and opened the door in her path; she gave him a questioning look but walked through, watching him closely. He was not normally one to act like a gentleman. Acting offended, Kakashi gave her a bit of a patronizing look that she frowned at.

"That we were supposed to have, what, a couple days ago...things just seemed to interfere with that."

"Oh."

And Kurenai wondered why this man would sometimes stare at her...and then sometimes act as though she were not there.

* * *

The waves frothed and bubbled so very far away, and there was no sign of her. 

Lee shook his head...why had he left? He had the terrible feeling that everyone was now either off on their own or at least in twos, unconnected and unprotected...and Sakura...off with the unpredictable, temperamental Uchiha. Now he was not exactly sure where he was; somehow he had ended up on the other side of the water and there was not a single indication of where Tenten was...

Unless she really had drowned...

His throat tightened painfully at this thought, but somewhere in his heart he could not and would not accept it.

Trying a different tack, the young shinobi went the opposite way, away from the water...perhaps she had washed up–come out on the shore and made her way into the woods to find them. So through the foliage he traveled, searching for anything out of the ordinary, finding only the opposite. After a few minutes he was ready to turn back and search the water's edge when something caught his eye, a clue so slight it begged to be missed–

Within the silvery leaves of a nearby plant was a tiny needle that he would know just by looking...it was Tenten's.

Heartbeat increasing he clenched it in his fist and stood stock-still, thinking, watching, waiting, hoping to find something else to point him in the right direction...and he did, a few feet away, but not a thing he would have wanted to find...

Tiny drops of blood that were shaped in such a way that Lee knew she had been running, falling quick and fast and thin upon the dirt–

With quick feet he followed, eyes on the ground to follow the winding trail of red...it seemed to have no clear direction, as if she had been staggering...he was concentrating so much that he did not notice where he was walking and the drops had led him to a tree...stopping in a sickeningly fresh puddle with the distinct scent of just-shed blood that dripped over an old, rotted and gnarled trunk, a trunk with the body fastened securely through the stomach.

As was typical, the denials and 'what if's scurried through his skull like city rats in search of garbage, all tumbling over another in a dizzying mess of nothing–

"God no," he whispered, gently touching the once vibrant cheek of the female; her expression was blank, chocolate brown eyes staring into absolute nothing, a dribble of blood stained the corner of her mouth that used to smile so. Each limb tied gracefully, together at the ankles and each wrist attached to the tree with almost a patterned array of her trademark silver needles.

With shaking hands he took the hilt of her own weapon and tugged gently, not caring if she was not able to feel at this point; after a bit of maneuvering, her fairly light body slid off the end of the curved blade and crumpled in a heap at the foot of the tree, eyes still wide and glassy. An angel of depicted peace.

Fingers of the softest touch passed over her purple eyelids to close them from the world, and to deny the world it's view of such horror.

* * *

"Sakura?" 

Hunched by the fire in her painful silence...she did not respond. This angered him.

Sasuke had woken from a particularly strange dream and wanted to know what had been going on while he had been asleep...it worried him to know that she had been alone, awake, all by herself...not yet possessing the strength, he raised himself on shaking elbows and squinted at her figure by the dancing lights; the air was effectively permeated with the scintillating scent of fire smoke. Only a small space revealed the world outside: A large boulder had been put in front of the cave opening presumably to conceal their hideaway, and a faint red spot was slowly appearing on the horizon...it was early, long before dawn.

"Sakura," he repeated, groaning a bit as he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling where fire remnants swirled. Her body relaxed a bit, but she still had her back facing him.

Sighing in annoyance, he was about to berate her when his eyes found the wound on her thigh...obviously the blood had not been cleaned and this angered him even more. So what had she been doing this whole time? Trying to prove herself again?

Sasuke listened; only her quiet breathing and the crackling of the fire existed. Gingerly, he sat all the way up and stretched his fingertips to the ceiling, listening to his vertebrae crack in his spine, and rubbed the crust from his eyes. Still she remained motionless.

**And even though it seemed  
like the world was crushing on her...  
Didn't let it hold her down, **

**Even hold her back–  
Oh no.**

**No.**

_**No.**_

"Damn it, Sakura," he grumbled, almost whining in exhaustion and pain, "Could you not do this to me?" After she refused to speak to him again, he slammed his fist on the ground in anger and then cursed in pain. Carefully, he crawled on his hands and knees stiffly toward her, and sat behind her as she continued to stare at the fire.

He tenderly put a hand on her shoulder, a little puzzled at her behavior... "Sakura–"

She jumped and let out a high-pitched scream, cowering as though she had been shot; Sasuke let out a yell and fell back, hand up in front of his face.

"Jesus...Sakura...you look terrible," Sasuke murmured, staring at her almost pitifully. She ran a hand through her pink locks and closed her eyes.

"No, I'm okay, really," she said, forcing herself to smile even as her face began to crumple into the expression that would soon bring tears. Lip trembling, she reached up and tugged on her own hair, rocking a bit in her exhaustion. "I'm _so_ fine." Laughing nervously, she repeated herself a few more times, muttering about this and that as if he were not even there. This frightened him...

"Haha, look at that, the fire's stillll goin'," she said in a sing-song voice, tilting her head back and forth as she stared at the flames. "Still goin'..."

Sasuke blinked. "Sakura...when's the last time you've slept?"

"Slept?" she repeated, and then waved a hand in the direction opposite of him; he raised an eyebrow. "I'm fine...I don't need sleep...what a silly thing to say, Sasuke," she said, giggling and pulling herself to her feet; Sasuke's expression was horrified as he watched her sway on unsteady legs, resolutely white aside from the dried rivets that were from her earlier wounds.

"Now you, my friend," she said, still with that same unintelligible expression, hovering between a nervous breakdown and hysteria. "Need to rest...you're not fully healed yet, you know." Ending with that same strange giggle, she handed him a mug of tea in her violently shaking hands, and he took it quickly before she spilled it. She took his free hand and held it to her face.

"You're sh-sh-shaking, Sasuke...you need sl-sleep," she stuttered; Sasuke set down his mug and took her other hand...she was freezing...as if no blood was running through her veins at all. Her shakes were so terrible that he felt himself shaking with her...or maybe it was his fatigue too.

"You should be fine if you r-rest and k-k-keep warm," she finished, trying to speak through her teeth chattering. She took a nearby blanket and gently wrapped it around his shoulders, tucking it around his neck; he watched her eyes slowly close...in a moment, she let her forehead fall on his and was silent.

Sasuke blinked; as if it had awoken her she jerked away and shook her head, smiling wildly.

"Now then you sleep...I...do paperwork," she told him, as if dictating to a foreigner; he watched her silently as she walked over to the fire, spread out her numerous files on the ground, and went to work, the sound of her pen on the clipboard breaking the silence when it could.

**Don't worry, you'll show them...  
There's a fire in your eyes...  
and I hope you'll let it burn. **

Sasuke stared into the dregs of his tea, too lost in his own thoughts...why did she_ do_ this? Forced herself to the point where it was too dangerous, too far, just too much to give. The selflessness she possessed...when he stopped and put it together in his mind, she had been awake for quite a while to keep watch over him as he...slept? He could not even remember what had happened the past night, but all he knew was that she was still hurt and she was stubborn to the point where she would not heal herself. Damn her.

This was something he would never understand about her...was it just outright defiance in which she pushed herself? The fact that this girl was still fighting the inevitable to do...what?

One of those things that he often admired in her, a trait that had only strengthened in his time away.

**There's a scream in your voice  
And I hope you will be heard  
There's a fire in your eyes  
And I hope you'll let it burn until you're heard...  
you're heard... **

The silent scream that never sounded; the proof that she was strong. Why could he not accept this?

He was beginning to.

The noise that came from frightened him from his thoughts; his grip tightened around the ceramic mug as he listened to her...and it was too difficult to tell whether it was a laugh or a sob.

"Sakura?"

"Why aren't you sleeping? Please, don't stay up for my sake...oh god, this migraine," she whimpered, as if the last part was only meant for her own ears. She let her pen clatter to the dust and began to clutch her head, rocking slowly back and forth.

"Sakura!" he said firmly, still holding onto the mug as though it were the only thing left belonging to him; it killed him to hear her doing this...falling apart...

"Don't yell," she whispered as her fingers curled into fists, tugging at her hair that was standing on end...she began to mutter again to herself...

"I have to...find Lee and Naruto...let them know we're alright...and Kakashi never came home...oh he must be worried...and Naruto is with Hinata, right? Ino and...they're all here?"

The mug was powerless against the Uchiha's angry fist; air stung at the deep cuts that the shards had left in his skin. "Sakura, you are not going anywhere. Put that work _away_."

The girl gathered her papers in her arms and clutched them to her chest, all that she seemed to understand in her deprived mind...Sasuke shook his head slowly at her as dropped the leaflets again to clutch her head in agony...the migraine was from lack of sleep and the dim firelight she let herself work by.

_She's so stupid sometimes._

**Like the world is crashing on you...**

Forcing himself to stand, he did the best he could in his condition and tried to pull her away, but she continued to moan and whimper from the pain and jerked away, hands still searching for the only thing she kept fixated...

"STOP!" he yelled, falling to his knees; gasping in pain, he let his forehead fall heavily onto her back and muttered, "Just...please...stop...let it _go_..."

"Noooo," Sakura whined, but let him take her by the arm and drag her over to the pile of blankets that was the makeshift bed. "I have to..._do_ something..."Sasuke gently pushed her down into the comforter and let himself fall heavily too, so they laid side by side...and now Sakura had that strange look on her face, the one that was close to tears, yet there was a twisted, forced smile. The stubborn girl tried to sit up but Sasuke took his strong arm and wrapped it around her chest, holding her to the floor and pulled her closer. Until her back was against his chest and her quick breathing collided with his in an uneven rhythm that she could not get rid of.

"Breathe," he muttered, closing his eyes as he held her, speaking into the back of her neck.

"I can't," she said in a strained voice, and now her back pressed into his chest as she finally began to sob. "I can't...I can't just do _nothing_...I don't want to...fall apart..."

**Relax girl...  
turn down the lights  
No one can see you shining  
Relax girl  
It'll be alright  
No one can stop you if you tried...**

"My job...the deaths...and that mission...and you coming back...and I haven't talked to my mother, and now all of _this_...and the funerals and the secrecy and the constant fear we live in and I just can't stand it anymore!" she screamed, but not fighting to leave his arms. "None of us know what's going on, and at first I though everything was falling into place...and now it's the opposite...and I don't know what I can control or what I'm going to do...I haven't fallen apart for so long...not like this...and it's..."

"No one's here, Sakura...no one is here, watching you fall apart..."

"_You_ are," she sobbed; Sasuke tightened his hold on her, still providing the even heartbeat for her to fall back on...slowly, her sobs were subsiding...their separate rhythms still clashed together, and he pressed his nose into the back of her neck. "The very last person I would _ever_ want...to see me...this way."

"Why?" he murmured, denying her the comfort of his complete hold for only a moment as he reached behind him to awkwardly pull another blanket over her...

_And she's shivering...just great, you know? That's the last thing I want, her getting sick as well as close to a severe mental breakdown. Overworking herself, like she always has. _

Her fingers squeezed the arm he wrapped back around her, this time around her waist instead of her chest...finally, her heartbeat was slowing to fall into time with his.

"Because," she whispered, sounding ashamed. "Because you would call me _weak_. And I'm _not_. Not anymore."

"Well I understand...but forgive me," Sasuke rasped, holding her closer, if that was possible. Sakura huffed, sounding ready to cry again...but the girl had no energy left to cry.

"I'll prove you wrong one day," she promised, a wave of comfort flooding her as he pressed his hips into her backside. Reaching back to cradle his head with her hand, she sighed and muttered, "Bastard."

She whimpered a bit as he nipped at the back of her neck for her attitude, then squirmed to turn toward him, burying a tearstained face into his bare chest. And as the sun rose, so the broken bodies of the shinobi rested in silence, together.

And so the rhythm beat wholly as one.

* * *


	18. Leaving Me Breathless

_I fucking** love **this couple._

**

* * *

Chapter 18: Leaving Me Breathless**

More than once, Sakura wished she could wake up at this man's side every morning.

Sasuke unconsciously realized that he always slept better when he woke up with her.

But these things were left unsaid. So much always was.

He was a very light sleeper due to his constant paranoia and tendency to dwell on little things long into the night; Sakura, however, groaned loudly as the curved glare of the sun shone through the space between the side of the cave wall and the rock she had shoved in front of the opening. Already awake, Sasuke blinked and grunted as the bright light hit his face too, and closed his eyes in annoyance and laid his head upon the ground again. Gently, he ran his fingers across the back of her neck and shifted a bit to feel more comfortable and she responded by laughing softly. With a bleary gaze she stared at him for a moment, then smiled as she buried her face into his bare chest again.

"You look bad," she muttered.

He scowled. "Excuse me?"

"Tired...and pretty bloody..."

"You're no sleeping beauty yourself," he said in his defense, though it lacked conviction. "Go back to sleep."

"Why-y?" she whined, staring up at him with wide, shimmering jade eyes; _ugh, why does she do that..._ annoyed that she thought she could make him give in, his grip tightened around her.

"10 minutes of sleep will put you in a better mood."

Sakura gasped in mock offense and nudged his neck with her nose, pouting.

"Only if you stay," she ordered, dragging her fingernails lightly down his skin; well, it's not like he would refuse; he closed his eyes.

"Whatever. Just stop _talking_."

Murmuring something unintelligible, she seemed to fall back asleep so quickly it felt like seconds...

_Well aren't we lucky..able to fall asleep without any trouble...she must be exhausted...but that was her own damn fault. _

As if the blissful silence had remained unbroken it continued, only the sound of their breathing heard–

Only to be brutally shattered by the piercing voice of hyperactivity:

"SASUKE? SAKURA? IZZAT YOU?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and grew rigid. _You must be fucking kidding. _He heard Sakura curse under her breath; she was wide awake now.

Through the space between the rock and the wall appeared a large blonde head, eyes wide with worry and curiosity; his gaze fell on them and was immediately torn between confusion and mischief; no doubt a million things were running through his mind, none of them particularly chaste.Hinata's exhausted, apologetic gaze appeared over his shoulder, and she squeaked in embarrassment when she saw them, still in each other's arms and limbs tangled together.

"S-sorry," she muttered, wincing from Sasuke's deadly glare that he fixed Naruto with; the latter and Hinata were shoved to the floor as Shikamaru strong-armed his teammates out of the way and dropped Ino on the floor.

"How come_ I'm_ the one hurt yet _I'm _carrying _you_?"Shikamaru snapped angrily, folding his arms as Ino pulled herself off the ground and shoved him, nearly hissing as she faced him: Clearly, everybody had a dangerous lack of sleep.

"You're the man, damn it–oh, well _what the hell_, nice little cave we have here, at least you had a place to sleep!" she spat at Sasuke, not even predicting what terrible consequences could ensue from provoking him, and he did not need an excuse to unleash his spleen on the next person to piss him off.

"Don't fucking yell at him, look at the state they're in!" Shikamaru said, gesturing to him and Sakura, who now sat up and held her head looking most disheveled, face starting to get red. Hinata edged against the wall to stay out of the fighting couple's way and sat by the fire that had long been out, silent, while Naruto was still staring at Sasuke with a strange look on his face. Sasuke bared his teeth and Naruto replied to this with a implicating glare.

Sakura's eyes narrowed swiftly and her chest rose as she took a deep breath–

Sasuke was too busy murdering Naruto with his vicious glare to notice–

Ino yanked on Shikamaru's vest and continued to screech, her words echoing in the confined space while he had her by the shoulders and tried to pry her off–

"PLEASE, _STOP _IT!"

Every head whirled around to see Hinata, tears threatening to fall from her pathetic wide eyes, pupil-less and begging her friends to stop. Ino's grip loosened in the silence, while Sakura held her breath and the boys were slightly humbled.

"Nothing...gets accomplished...if we sit here and fight. We must listen to each other, or..." she broke off, hanging her head.

"She's...right..." Sakura said quietly, wincing as she held her head; Sasuke watched her closely. She still had a migraine.

Ino ripped Shikamaru's vest off of him, wrapped it around her shoulders, and stalked angrily over to the mess of blankets and clothes. Huffing, she dramatically threw herself to the ground, curled into a ball, and was silent. Shikamaru mouthed wordlessly at her for a moment, then rolled his eyes and decided it was too much trouble to bother with her, and took a seat on the ground, leaning back on his arms. Hinata was watching Sakura rub her head while Naruto continued to make a myriad of facial expressions that irked Sasuke to no end.

"Stop it," Sasuke snapped, the tone in his voice so staccato and full of anger that his slight accent sprinkled it; the two words made Shikamaru give him a questioning look, and Naruto sat upon the ground too, eyes shining with curiosity.

Sakura began to stand but was yanked roughly back to the ground by Sasuke–she gave him a dirty look.

"Is your migraine gone?" he asked, giving her a searching look, staring through her.

She avoided the question. "I'm fine."

"Wrong answer. Go back to sleep."

Naruto and Shikamaru grinned at each other.

"No," she said simply, snubbing him completely as she began to stand again but his eyes flashed in anger, and he shoved her down again, listening to her moan in pain as he laid on top of her, sighing as she struggled.

"It wouldn't kill you to stop working, you know."

"I–"

She grabbed the back of his head to keep him from getting her neck.

"Don't you do it," she warned, ignoring his smirk as his teeth clacked against each other. Continuing to hold him back, she kept her glare up as long as she could...but his onyx orbs bore into her jade ones too long and her head pounded painfully...

Sighing in defeat, she released her grip and shoved him off her fiercely, waving him away to indicate that she did not need his help, she glared at him again before spying his shirt on the ground and taking it to force into a ball and bury her face in it. Sasuke folded his arms and towered over her, not turning his back on her until she closed her eyes completely.

"Hn," Sasuke muttered, taking a seat next to Naruto with his back to her; she sat up and made a rude hand gesture, mirroring his usual brooding expression for a moment until Shikamaru snorted and the other two guys looked at him. Sakura quickly laid back down, grinning to herself.

Shikamaru cleared his throat as Sasuke glared at him, but the latter soon watched the medic over his shoulder, intent on making sure she was going to sleep. He knew that it did not take long.

"I can't sleep when you're watching me," she said in a sing-song voice, and Sasuke nearly got up again; Naruto grabbed his sleeve.

"Come on," Shikamaru muttered, waving his hand so they would follow him out of the cave, leaving the girls to sleep; Naruto shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over Hinata's sleeping form (leaning against the wall) before following.

It was afternoon: The sun hovered high in the clear blue sky, so different from the ominous overcast blanket that had been there the day before. Gentle breezes rustled the foliage and a very familiar scent was in the air...Sasuke might have thought it almost peaceful if Naruto and Shikamaru had not been staring at him, one on each side as if bodyguards. Their gazes were too curious for Sasuke's taste, and he continued to walk lazily, pretending he was on his own, but it was difficult.

Taking a seat at the foot of a large tree, the raven-haired boy stared up into the branches, ignoring his friends as they sat in front of him, watching. He tried not to remember the day before...Sakura's back bending painfully over the branch as her limp body was thrown back and forth like a pinball, bloody...landing in his lap with that terrifying blank gaze...

_That looked painful._

He rose his head to see them both staring, grinning, and he lost his temper.

"STOP FUCKING STARING AT ME!"

They burst out laughing, a thing that irked the Uchiha even more and activated his Sharingan in his frequent temperamental moments; Shikamaru stopped immediately, but the blonde was now rolling on the ground.

"What...is so funny?" he asked in a low voice, anger piercing every syllable as it left his lips.

"You slept with her!"

Shikamaru looked away in respect as Sasuke grabbed Naruto's collar and dragged him closer, forcing him to stare in his bloody red eyes. The immaturity was _so _annoying.

"I'd shut my mouth," he hissed, and Shikamaru nodded in agreement behind Naruto's back. Sasuke threw him back and Naruto sat up, struggling not to collapse into hysterical laughter.

"You wouldn't be so angry it weren't true," the blonde accused, sitting indian-style and assuming a superior air that did not intimidate the avenger in the slightest; on the contrary, the atmosphere seemed to crackle dangerously as the hair on the back of his neck stood up straight, a muscle in his lip twitching. But the thought of her running her gentle fingers down his bare chest...

"I...she...asked...I didn't–" Sasuke stammered, a telltale, almost invisible brush of pink high in his cheeks.

"Would you sleep with her?" Shikamaru asked in curiosity. Sasuke stared at him as though he'd grown an extra head; the strategist shrugged.

_Maybe. _"No. Of course not."

"You're lying," Naruto jibed, nudging his friend in the ribs.

"Okay, would you sleep with Hinata if you had the chance?" Sasuke asked, and it was the first thing that had come from his mouth, and he surprised himself. But a satisfied smirk graced his features when Naruto became red with anger.

"Erm, no, and neither would anyone else, 'cause I wouldn't let them. I _respect_ her."

"And I don't respect Sakura?" Sasuke said pretentiously, raising an eyebrow. _No. I should, but I don't._

"Why don't you ask Shikamaru?"

"Because I don't _want_ to know how many times he's laid Ino," Sasuke said, waving a hand toward the strategist, who looked away before Naruto could question him. Naruto gaped, but then continued to interrogate.

"What happened then?"

"We were both attacked...and knocked out. When I awakened she must have brought me to that cave...she was badly injured and she was being stubborn and wouldn't go to sleep."

"So you slept with her?"

"Yes! NO!" Sasuke yelled, slapping his forehead as they burst into laughter again. "Technically, yes, but, not _really_, and _why the hell am I discussing this anyway?_" he finished, getting to his feet and shoving his hands in his pockets as their footsteps began to follow him.

Naruto muttered something indistinct, and Shikamaru winced as Sasuke whirled around, eyes still crimson. He smirked and disappeared.

"Oh man," Shikamaru muttered in the silence.

Naruto gasped as a powerful arm cut off his air supply as it tightened around his neck, and his feet were lifted from the ground. Shikamaru shook his head; he didn't know when to shut his mouth.

"Hey Naruto, is there something in your eye?" Sasuke hissed, raising a fist in front of his face.

"Erm...no..."

"Really? It looks a bit purple."

"Purple? I don't think my eye is–"

SLAM.

* * *

"Now light it."

"I...I can't!"

"_Light it_."

The girl wailed and would have fallen to her knees if the cloaked figure had not picked her up by her slender shoulder and roughly jerked her up; there was a sickening crack that sent a shudder through the small crowd. Forced to watch. On the ground her father bled, unable to speak. Pretty crimson was congealed on his muscular throat, chest rising and falling rapidly with each breath, each second he was still alive. Watching his daughter cry. Eyes open and glassy shed tears with no shame, a sight that seemed to disgust the Uchiha standing over him; raising an eyebrow ever so slightly, he nodded to a man at his side, who walked up to the body on the ground and gave it a ruthless kick.

"Stop it!" she sobbed, vainly fighting away the guard holding her, but she received nothing for her efforts except the terrifying snap of her elbow...he let the young girl crumple, her arm now useless weight. "He doesn't know!_ I _don't know! We didn't talk to th–AAIIE!" she screeched, her verbal defense stopped by a slap.

"Impatient," Itachi breathed, watching her sob on the stone square, expressionless.

The father on the ground coughed so wretchedly that blood expelled from his mouth and landed like raindrops on his pale face; the girl threw herself upon his chest and was covered in his blood.

"Father no! I won't!"

Itachi stepped forward without a sound and lifted the young girl's wrist; stupidly, she attempted to struggle only to be halted in fear by his glaring pupils. With his free hand, only a couple hand signs were needed to make the tiny flame to set the man's body alight.

Shrieking; he let her fight away and stood there, indifferent, blinking every so often with the firelight dancing in his eyes that saw and cared for nothing. Now she kneeled very close to the flames, screaming his name over and over in the awkward silence; none of the other villagers watching dared breathe in his presence.

With a strange gentleness, Itachi lifted the girl by the back of her shirt and held her, suspended–

Before throwing her on top of her father as if tossing a wrapper in the garbage.

A shudder traveled through the crowd again in frightening unison, and a few swayed, but none were caught as they crumpled to the ground in shock.

"I want that girl found," he stated in a completely monotone voice, standing and staring out into nothing; the shinobi with him nodded and the man continued to stand with his hair blowing dramatically in the wind. The wind that carried leaves from nearby trees to swirl across the village square.

The wind that made the fire grow, giving it the strength to crackle dangerously to drown out the screams, the pitiful crying of the doomed.

* * *

"My god, Naruto, you're so reckless! How did this happen again?" Sakura asked, carefully inspecting his black eye; Shikamaru shook his head, Ino was still snoring, and Hinata was on his other side, her eyes full of pity.

"He ran straight into a tree, the idiot," Sasuke supplied, arms folded as his eyes stared at Naruto, who was squirming under the medic's touch like a child.

"Now Sasuke...don't call him an idiot," Sakura said in a placating tone, pulling the eyelid down to better see the bruise. "But you really should watch where you walk."

"More like watch who you talk to," Shikamaru muttered indistinctly, while Sasuke smirked in satisfaction.

Sakura finished doctoring his black eye and patted him on the shoulder, shaking her head in a motherly way. She had already healed Shikamaru's arm to near perfection aside from stiffness. Naruto thanked her and grinned as he put on a concerned facade and asked, "And do you feel better, Sakura?"

"Actually, yes, I do," she replied, glancing at Sasuke; he looked away as if indifferent, but the tips of his ears turned a bit red.

"I need a shower!" Ino interjected, sitting up and yawning widely. "I haven't had one since I've been here."

"But the only river we found was..." Hinata trailed off, reminding them all of the power of that strange water.

"I think it was that one, not all of the water here...if they expected us to survive, there would have to be normal water _somewhere,_" Sakura stated matter-of-factly.

"There is," Ino told them, standing up and letting Shikamaru's vest fall to the floor. "We saw some on the way here because I drank from it...and I'm fine now."

"Settled then," Sakura said simply, throwing Sasuke's shirt back to him and he caught it.

"I like swimming!" Naruto yelled, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

Sakura nodded in agreement and grabbed her own duffel and began to remove clothes from it when she stopped and stared at the boys. Ino and Hinata did too. They stared back, puzzled. Sakura got up abruptly, took Sasuke's shoulders, spun him around and gave him a light shove toward the opening; he stopped and turned back around with a questioning look.

"You guys are changing out there," she stated, nodding to the world outside. Ino folded her arms and grinned while Hinata nodded in agreement.

Sasuke scowled, sighed dramatically, and turned to leave, while the other two followed him.

* * *

Amazingly, she was still alive.

Her little blonde head rested upon the windowsill, daydreaming about the family she had been forced to leave and what she had now.

She was alone.

"Hikari?" a quiet voice asked; the blonde turned around to find her dark-haired friend Kami watching her carefully, legs tucked beneath her primly as her pink eyes seemed expectant. Only they occupied the infirmary; every other child that had been injured that day was gone, and adults resided in the opposite side of the hospital. This wing was usually quiet now, for the only two here could do nothing but sit and bide their time, the time continued to tick slowly with no blissful end in sight.

"Are you alright?" Kami asked, knowing very well she was not, but her friend had always been emotional and she therefore proceeded in the most subtle manner she knew how.

"They're gon' fin' us," Hikari whispered, wrapping little bruised knuckles around the sill. "They know."

Kami paled, if that was possible, considering her pallet had been sickly for her entire life. "Why?"

"'Cause yesterday...ashes were 'in th' sky," she mumbled, blue eyes fixated on the terrifying beyond. "Were ma' mom's ashes...I could tell..."

"How in the world could you know that?" Kami snapped, trying to comprehend it herself...

"They always burnt th' dead. Sickness 'n' illness 'n' things...but iffen he wan 'ned 'em burnt...he'd have it."

"Who? Why? Explain!" Kami said, voice rising in passionate fear. Hikari painfully shuffled her body around to face her companion.

"Our village always been simple," the blonde said quietly, looking to the tiled scrubbed floor. "But we always close wi' fam' ly and such...you kin always tell when one o' your own dies...and the man who came there...with the bloody eyes...he burnt 'em 'cause he's lookin' for me, or you, even iffen you er from Black Castle...he's everywhere...there ain't no way ta stay away..."

"But who's the man with the bloody eyes?" Kami whispered, twisting her hands together in her lap out of agitation. "His name?"

"'Tachi," Hikari said, then made a face; her dialect was difficult to break out of. And lately, in her fear, it came back. "Eh-Tachi," she repeated, accenting the sound to help her friend understand.

"Uchiha?" Kami gasped, looking around as though it were taboo to speak his name. "His men...went through Black Castle too..."

"Then they'll fin' you too," the blonde said quietly, eyes narrowed. "They know...tha' we escaped."

Kami set her piercing pink gaze on the window, on the world she once dwelled in and probably never would again. For the first time, there was a tear in her eye.

"I'd better _die_ first."

* * *

"Damn it..."

Shikamaru and Naruto both looked at Sasuke, whose eyes were narrowed, following the kunoichi's figure as she walked to the shore, Ino and Hinata with her. Hinata seemed a bit more modest than the other two, but Ino stretched her arms over her head and tossed her towel to the ground as if it were exhausting to carry. Naruto blinked.

"You know, I've never seen Hinata in a bathing suit...hey, Hinata!" He was running toward them in a flash, while Shikamaru followed, leaving Sasuke standing near the tree alone, trying to act cool and unconcerned, which you would think would be easy for the guy, considering he spent most of his life doing it.

Well...it really wasn't.

He remembered the last time he had seen her in any less clothing...only one rushed morning when she stomped out in her towel wrapped loosely around her waist; she had hurriedly made a breakfast for Naruto and Sasuke's mission before showering that morning. Her presence was so frightening...when they heard her feet slap against the wet wooden floor; even Kakashi had torn his eyes from his book to see her, soaking, dripping and livid in the doorway. She liked her showers hot, and heat radiated from her bare skin as she glared at each one of them in turn, just waiting.

Kakashi went back to his book, and Sasuke began to choke on his food, so the only one she could berate was Naruto, who whimpered.

And she'd yelled about there being no hot water left. It was actually Sasuke's fault, but he didn't say he'd had a shower yet. So she had beaten Naruto to a bloody pulp and left Kakashi to pound Sasuke's back for a full three minutes before he could breathe. He had pushed his chair away and gone outside to brood, at least, that was what they had assumed.

Point was, it'd been a real shock finding her standing in the doorway with a towel wrapped over only (in his opinion, barely) part of her cleavage and about three inches of her thigh.

_I mean really, what was left to cover? She might as well have–_

He stiffened as she caught his eye and he knew how screwed he was...so much for playing it cool. And she smiled; that sly, seductive smile that she had somehow obtained and perfected over the past few years that she knew was going to get her what she wanted. Or at least get pretty damn close. She knew he was doubting himself and that was all she needed.

Shrugging her shoulder as though he were not worth her time, she flipped her long hair over it and made sure he was still looking.

_Idiot! Don't look at her!_

_There's a half-naked extremely toned kunoichi prancing around just **asking** for attention, _his rational but perverted side said in his own defense.

"Sakura, you comin' in?" Naruto yelled from his spot on the shore; he was sitting next to Hinata, who only had her feet in so far...Ino was floating on her back and getting her backside pinched every so often from Shikamaru, who was swimming underneath her.

"Patience, Naruto, patience," she said in what they took as a normal tone; the implication behind it killed Sasuke's dignity horribly; she knew he'd come.

In what fashion and how long it would take, that was the question.

Cupping her hand, it plunged beneath the crystal clear water and brought with it simply that, the liquid so plain yet beautiful in it's many forms...running fingers across her bare thigh to dissolve the dried crimson...dripping down in faint pink rivers across the defined muscle line. Higher...one jade eye fixed on his and she smirked...a smirk that was so similar to his that he stiffened a little in this painful reminder of all he had done...and what she had become.

Continuing to rid herself of the blood, she eventually ceased this and dipped her hands in the river again, running practiced fingers through her long pink locks from scalp to tip. Entranced, his eyes roamed more than he realized...every time she raised her arm to comb her hair a muscle tightened in her arm, and he never realized how much her chest rose and fell with every breath she took...drops fell from her scalp and traveled down her back, not to mention her toned stomach–

She stood and stretched again, making sure he watched her every slight movement...

Oh, of course, she was in a bikini...what girl with such a figure _wouldn't_? Solid, red, and very small...

_**Damn** her, damn her, I would **kill** her if she dared wear this around Lee...or even Kakashi, for that matter, the pervert...or anybody..._

Sakura gathered her hair into a bun and held it to the top of her head, looking at him demurely...

Sasuke gritted his teeth and let his bare back scrape against the bark as he went on the other side of the tree...and she thought she had him whipped...

With a goal in mind, he stealthily hopped onto a branch and made only the slightest rustles as he picked a spot that was directly above her. One leaf twirled over itself in the air and eventually landed on her nose, and the girl glanced up, knowing he was there...but for now, he was hidden, waiting.

To further please him, she laid her towel on the ground and sat, watching the others scream and flirt for a bit, and then let herself fall back, keeping her expression blank. He was annoyed at himself as his eyes were drawn to her slightly bouncing breasts as her back hit the ground.

After five more minutes, he did nothing and Sakura grew annoyed.

"Are you coming in yet?" Ino demanded, only to be pulled under by Shikamaru. Bubbles rose from where she had disappeared, and Naruto and Hinata looked at her expectantly. Lips twisted, the medic glanced up, peering within the foliage, but he was nowhere to be seen. _Wuss._

"Yeah, I guess–"

The rustle grew and settled so quickly, like a faint breeze, a whisper; she knew he'd left the tree and instinctively reached to her hip for a weapon that she did not have...

Her head whirled around to look behind her as she heard his feet hit the ground with nothing more than a faint patter but he was already out of her vision...

"S-Sakura!" Hinata squeaked out, distracting the victim with her strangled cry as her head turned–

"UGH!"

When things happen so fast they almost seem slow...

She felt his arms around her small waist and let out a grunt as he knocked the wind out of her–they were floating almost heavenly as his force carried her into the air and over the water she had been waiting to jump in for the past twenty minutes–she felt his face pressing into her back and she let out a laugh before they hit the water...

SPLASH.

Sunlight painted heaven beneath as she heard the splash echo in the underwater tomb...an arm still around her waist, he now had an arm across her breasts, holding her as close as possible, as they continued to plunge down...down...

Eventually the couple floated up, still tangled up in each other's limbs. All eyes were on them as their heads broke the surface together, both breathing heavily and Sasuke still held her tightly against him, smirking. Sakura gulped down more air before leaning her head against his shoulder and whispering...

"You think you won?"

The boy loosened his grip and ran his rough hands down the sides of her body, feeling everything, every curve, every tightened muscle, and then he nodded. "Yes. I do."

She giggled, then put her arms above her head and plunged beneath the surface.

"Hey–!"

"You'd better catch her," Shikamaru told him, floating by on his back lazily.

_Don't need to say that twice._

* * *

Two jounin walked side by side toward the building where screams sounded.

You would think they might walk a bit faster, a bit of hurry in their step, but no. Kakashi kept his hands deep in his pockets as he strolled lazily down the dirt path, Gai at his side almost equally slow.

Kakashi gazed at the sky to watch the projected flight of the clipboard that had shattered the window and was now flying through the air at a dangerously high speed; it cleared the treetops easily and was out of sight. Shards of glass cracked and tinkled, a few falling to the bushes that lined the building, and their expressions were kept determinedly blank as they braced themselves, about to walk into that room.

"So...Kakashi," Gai said slowly, the tone that told the gray-haired jounin he was in for an interrogation. He knew exactly what it was about, but had no intention of discussing it...there really was not much to discuss.

Except that maybe the perverted side of him had the possibility of being humbled somewhat.

"Ah, Gai," Kakashi muttered genially, clapping his shoulder. "As much as the curiosity inside you burns for knowledge...I'm afraid I can't give that to you."

"What do you think Anko will do?" his companion asked, glancing at the broken window: The thundering voice of Tsunade was struggling to drown out Anko's rough tone, and Kurenai's was simply a mumbling underneath. Kakashi sighed a bit, rubbing the back of his head..._I wish Kurenai would speak up..._

"Honestly, I don't have the time to dwell on it," Kakashi said lightly, clearly sounding as though he would rather care less. The respect he had held for woman just seemed to dwindle with every passing incident, and frankly there were more important things on his mind.

Gai asked a question without saying a word; the silence was just too awkward.

"No," Kakashi said firmly. "I'm a colleague, not a replacement."

"Fair enough."

Their footsteps began to drag as they neared the room where the female bickering took place; men with authority they might have been, no one who wanted to keep their sanity would dare set foot...too bad. They had been called there.

A game of rock–paper–scissors dubbed Gai the victim; the door creaked, vanishing all hope of stealing in quietly; the three women looked up: Tsunade looked livid, as was usual for her these past days, Anko also livid with yet another weapon in hand, and Kurenai in the middle, also expected, trying to calm them down.

"Ladies," Gai began, hands out as if to shield himself from verbal abuse; Kurenai seemed relieved at the sight of Kakashi and mouthed 'Help me!'. Shaking his head in pity, he decided to cut to the chase.

"A problem, Tsunade?" he asked in his usually cool tone.

"Yes, well," the Sannin began, pushing her blonde locks from her face and resuming her seat behind the desk. They stood at her attention, waiting for her to catch her breath and calm her temper, oh, and giving the proctor very angry looks indeed.

"The ANBU officers I sent in last night sent back reports: None of the young shinobi have been spotted within the compound, which worries me. The last update I received was at...22 hundred hours on the dot, and contact was lost shortly thereafter. Now we have missing officers and I shudder to think what is going on. I sent more in–"

"Which was a damn stupid idea," Anko interjected, completely indifferent to the fact that she had no right to speak at this point.

"–But at this point I think it's time to go in ourselves and get them out."

"–Which would be dangerous, consider we could easily get killed too–"

"ANKO!" Kurenai snapped, and the other jounin jumped at her outburst. "You are_ not _in charge, shut your mouth!"

Before the proctor could retort, Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk, which promptly snapped in half; and began to yell at them again. Kakashi and Gai stood apart, conversing in low voices, but the women were arguing so fiercely that it was not difficult to be ignored.

"You know, I'm almost afraid having Tsunade teach my former student," Kakashi said, remembering the numerous pieces of furniture broken at home when Sakura became angry.

"What are _we_ going to be able to do that the ANBU Black Ops _can't_?" Anko demanded, leaving Tsunade and Kurenai to fall victim to her obnoxious opinion. "Throwing a bunch of people in there and hoping some come out alive isn't taking action!"

Kakashi lowered his head and Gai looked away as Kurenai stepped up to the plate.

"And what do you propose we do otherwise? Let them bide their time or fight to the death?"

"Who the hell do you think they're fighting, fucking garden gnomes?!" Anko demanded, voice coming to a high-pitched mirth–

"I've already told you what I think; there's other people in there, ninja from other towns that have taken out our own and are ultimately heading for them and plan to kill them in the end!"

"They're adults," Anko said stubbornly, folding her arms; Kurenai was turning red with suppressed rage.

"They're stupid teenagers! Face it, Anko, they're still fairly young, they're going to make mistakes, and this might be something they can't handle?"

"She has a–UGH!" Kakashi elbowed Gai in the side before he could make a comment that would lead to choosing sides, something the copy nin did not want to chance.

"Fine. For now, we're waiting. I want each of you, including Iruka and the apprentices stationed equally on the perimeter. Look for signs of forced entry and report to me every 20 minutes. Now get out!" Tsunade said in one breath, pointing to the door; Anko shoved past them all and stalked out, and Kurenai glared after her fiercely.

"OUT!" Tsunade screeched, jabbing her powerful finger in the direction she'd left: They hurried out, shutting the door behind them.

Kurenai turned and stared at the closed wooden door, looking as though she'd gladly knock and resume the argument again, but Kakashi took her by the elbow roughly and dragged her away and held her between him and Gai. None of them spoke, leaving the redhead to silently fume until they left the building.

But then she hung her head as they footsteps carried them out to the numbered compounds, and eventually the dreaded sniffle was heard; Kakashi seemed concerned and Gai put his hands up and bowed out, walking ahead.

"They're going to die," Kurenai muttered, hands clenched into shaking fists, knuckles white. She had lost two students, and now fate was on it's third strike...Hinata...and Kakashi's entire team, Tenten and Lee, all in there...and who knew what else or who else was in there, waiting for the chance to move in for the kill.

Jerking her head up, she stared out at nothing, furious at herself for yet more of her worthless tears, shed over nothing she could control.

"They're going to _die_!"

* * *

Who knew suffocation could feel so good?

_This isn't like before...like the fire...oh god no...this is different. _

The other shinobi actually stopped what they were doing: Naruto snickered, Hinata seemed embarrassed, Ino and Shikamaru were impressed. But they couldn't really see what was going on...beneath the shimmering surface.

He wasn't letting her swim up.

Every so often he rose his head to the surface and wondered, vaguely, what was going on above and beyond...and once in a while he considered letting her breathe...but she continued to respond by touch and that enough was to make him forget. Forget where he was, forget that he did in fact require breathing to live.

Neither had their eyes open...it wasn't needed. Guided by delicious, sensual touch alone he could feel every part of her, and she him; she put both hands back behind his head and pushed his face against her neck, smirking as chiseled arms held her fast.

Hinata jumped as she watched their heads break the surface: Frenzied gasps choked down air, Sasuke's nose in the crook of her neck and her hands still tugging on his soaked locks–wrapping his legs around her little waist he dragged her down, down into the depths, smirking against her skin.

"I hope they don't drown," Naruto said, while Hinata held a blank expression.

"I think they might want to," Ino replied, snickering.

Unearthly silence descended when the resulting splash cleared...distant heartbeats fluttered like a song played from far away...and her lungs felt so great when they were on fire...

Hands calloused from training still explored every inch of her skin, roughly letting his fingers follow her form from her breasts, into her waist, out again around her curvaceous hips...it just wasn't close enough as he opened his eyes and pressed his teeth against her neck and she arched her back in delight, pressing against him–

Her giggle was intoxicating as it echoed around him in the shadowy, dim light; she began to swim up, glancing at him over her bare shoulder she stuck her tongue out and kicked her legs to attempt breaking the surface. But she couldn't escape him: He locked his arms around her waist and dragged her down again until she rested in his hold.

_I don't think so...you chose to mess with me, Sakura...you're mine now._

To illustrate this point he roughly grabbed her breasts from behind, bringing her body as close as possible, back into his control...their legs tangled together and now she positively yanked on his hair, uttering the whimper that had been waiting to hear. But somewhere his rational side smacked him upside the skull and reminded him of the need of oxygen...so, still clutching her to him, swam up and toward the shore–

Ino and Shikamaru's heads swivelled as pink and black broke the surface, Sasuke lifting himself out with one hand, the other still around the medic's waist. Still gasping, she linked her arms through his and dragged him on top of her while he quelled a noise reminiscent of a growl...the growl against her back sent a flush through her whole body...her curvaceous body that he was still on top of.

"Sas...uke," she breathed, letting water drip from her face onto the ground...he watched her back rise and fall and still he had his hands on her chest, crushed between her weight and the ground. He yearned to bite her neck again...those whimpers were dangerously addictive to the ear. But something caught his eye...the loosely tied knot that held the top of her swimsuit together. His hands were certainly busy.

Luckily, teeth worked just as well.

"Sas–OH!" she moaned, feeling his mouth attack the back of her bikini top; he chuckled low in his throat and stretched his neck to untie the knot, grinning sadistically with the material in his mouth.

"Say my name," he ordered, crushing his soaked body against hers, whispering the words with a caress she didn't expect of him. Yet sounding like a vicious hiss.

_Oh hell no, _Sakura thought, ignoring the pleasurable shudder that went through every fiber of her body; squirming beneath him she slammed her elbows back into his ribs; he never saw it coming. Slight hesitation was all the kunoichi needed as she rolled onto her back, but he was too quick:

He held himself over her, apparently recovered from the shock, onyx eyes locking on her jade ones with an intensity that sent another wave of desire within. Without breaking contact he was motionless for a moment, an arm on either side of her head as the water from his chest dripped silently on her burning skin. And she felt as though she were falling...that strange look in his eyes that she had never remembered before.

That violent emotion of lust.

The medic held her breath–

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura," Ino muttered, shaking her head in approval and pride; Shikamaru, who was on his back, stared at her.

"I can't believe you're just..._gawking_."

"You have to admit, it's pretty hot," Ino said, grinning. Shikamaru shrugged and closed his eyes.

Sakura's skin exploded as his hand pinned her shoulder to the ground...she loved the feeling of his rough hands on her...he hunched over her and she put her hands on the back of his neck. She was able to feel his heartbeat...so wild and out of control...just like her own. The air seemed to crackle as if electricity were present, and it was driving him crazy to see her lying there, breathing shallowly as her chest rose and fell...dripping and soaked and staring up at him...the eyes that begged him to just touch her...

He brushed the sopping locks off her forehead as his knee came completely down to the ground, forcing her thighs apart roughly..._this man just doesn't know gentle...and I don't care. _And he pressed it into her maidenhood just to listen to her moan, feeling hot himself as her legs tightened against his knee. Abruptly, she swallowed and let her eyes fall shut, dragging him down to her so she could whisper:

"Don't. Stop."

Sasuke growled possessively, _wouldn't dream of it._

He would have kept going. Kept doing what, he was not sure...anything to make her stay this way... if he had not felt the eyes. Before his roar.

"**SAKURA**!"

Jealousy.

The dark eyes that now would give anything to kill him, rip him to a million tiny pieces. Burn those pieces to ashes and put them in an urn, shatter the urn. Burn the ashes in hell how many times over...

The body the taijutsu shinobi had been carrying fell to the ground.

Now the medic's eyes remained closed...she was probably wishing she could just die right then and there; Sasuke leaned back on his legs, still breathing heavily as the water dripped from his locks and was frozen, a statue.

There was no explaining this away.

Although blaming his pervert of a teacher seemed justified.

And Lee looked like he wanted an explanation as his eyes narrowed, not sure which shinobi to focus on, not sure which one should take the blame for breaking his heart.

* * *

Uhoh...and how will Lee react to this? I mean, he came back with Tenten's body on his shoulder to find that...sucks to be him.

I love how Naruto is immature about it and just keeps pressing him...

I 3 Sasuke. So damn rough. --purrs--. Itachi too.


	19. Snapping Strings And Ending Flings

Um. It's long. But I think it's okay. And I hate action scenes. Die.

The part with Sasuke worried makes me tear up...--is emo--.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Snapping Strings and Ending Flings**

Like a swift and ruthless frost, descending upon the already frozen.

A statue stared back at teammates of the same, and there was no sound, a dangerous and awkward silence in which no living creature dared breathe.

"Lee..." Ino began, the only part of her moving her lips. "Tenten..."

"Sleeping?" Naruto asked in a joking voice, immaturity his reaction to fear, reaction to death and uncontrollable aspects of life. He laughed nervously when Lee glanced at him, and while Hinata was shuddering and nudging the blonde to make him stop, it was impossible. Grinning slightly in shock, Naruto found his knuckle and bit it, hard, the chuckling too hard to cease. Shikamaru and Ino were sitting next to each other on the grassy bank...the wind rippled through the blades in silence, and blew strands of hair into Sasuke's face, which was resolutely stony. They teased him so ruthlessly.

He saw the muscles in her back frighteningly tense; she was sitting up now, legs bent on either side of her as she stared up at Lee with the blankest gaze...what _could_ she say? Jade eyes flickered to the crumpled form of the kunoichi on the ground, having slid from his back, and then rested on him. There were no apologies. There were no excuses.

The wind incriminated the couple in a cruel way as the breezes ruffled her locks and slapped them in the Uchiha's face, and his sharp eyes left Lee's to catch the loosened knot of her top unraveling slowly, almost teasingly–

Internally cursing and quelling his spark of panic his hand shot out just as Sakura reached over her shoulder to hold the strings together; with a loud clap of skin on skin that turned all heads, he held her small fingers under his, which in turn held the knot. A rude reminder that was so unneeded.

"Tenten..." Ino repeated, eyes unable to leave the motionless girl on the ground. Lee seemed to have forgotten...instead his gaze was hardened and focused only on the kunoichi that had given him so much happiness...that had made him feel worth something and seen him at his best and at his worst...

_This_ girl. Whom had held him at second place for far too long.

"I..."

The only thing Sakura could utter from her mouth; the staring was too painful to keep up. She had no words of comfort, but could not justify, to herself, the apology. Aware that her fingers were still captured in Sasuke's, she took back her hand deliberately, letting it fall and rest at her side.

The material slipped through the shinobi's fingers and through his numbness panic poked at him again as he brought up his other hand, now holding each string and lowering his head slightly as he now attempted to tie her bathing suit together...so aware of everyone staring at him, normally practiced fingers fumbled in embarrassment and Sakura still refused to breathe. Every time the strings did not come together he huffed, gritting his teeth and ignoring the looks he was receiving.

After tense moments in which not one man breathed, he pulled his hands away, the knot complete.

"She is dead."

Sakura's lip began to tremble. "I know."

"She is _dead!_" Lee roared, tears welling in his eyes; of all of them, he was the one who did not mind revealing his emotions when the time came. And for his teammate, they were certainly well-deserved. With nothing to grasp, nothing else to do, he lashed out and kicked the body; each shinobi jerked in response, but it did not matter. She could not feel. It hovered on it's side for a bit, then fell back to the dirt, motionless and unresponsive.

"DEAD!"

Another kick.

"_DEAD!_"

"We get it," Sasuke muttered, fixing him with a glare of annoyance that nearly did justice in hiding the guilt. Lee pointed at him and he stood, brushing the dirt off his knees and struggling to remain indifferent.

"Shut your mouth," Lee snapped, jabbing at him with such passionate hate that Sakura gave him a fearful look as she pulled herself to her feet.

Sasuke sneered and opened his mouth but Sakura roughly grabbed his arm; nails dug painfully into flesh for almost a minute before he clenched his jaw shut.

"How?"

Lee turned his gaze back to Sakura and she attempted to apologize or soothe with her gentle tone; it was in vain. His dark eyes held nothing but blankness, the emotion she had come to expect from Sasuke.

He did not answer, but instead kneeled and turned Tenten over, unhooking something from the back of her belt, and put her on her back. Tenderly, he took her hands and placed them on top of each other to rest on her stomach, then stalked angrily up to Sakura, ignoring Sasuke completely, and showed her the object. He held it in front of her face for her to see, not reacting to her horrified gasp.

In the little space between them, Lee flung the object down–Sakura felt the ripple of air pass her face from the speed–and it cracked a bit.

An ANBU mask.

Sakura closed her eyes but did not flinch as his sandaled foot came down upon the painted mask and effectively shattered it; she listened to the cracking, snapping and grinding sound of his powerful strength killing what it represented.

"SHE–is– DEAD!" he yelled, voice cracking and Sakura did not open her eyes to acknowledge his rainfall of spit. He was screaming at _her_. She whimpered and Sasuke reacted instinctively–

Lee shoved her away as Sasuke's fist came out of nowhere, eager to shed some blood; Sakura rocked back out of the way but threw herself forward immediately to stop them as Sasuke grabbed Lee's arm and nearly snapped his elbow–

"NO!" Sakura screeched, forcing her body between them as they threw themselves at each other and her hands came up–

**SNAP.**

The others uttered a collective groan as each boy stumbled back, clutching their noses; the heels of her hands were still raised in the air as blood flowed profusely over their chests. Both were stunned.

"Don't you_ dare_ try to fight with each other!" she warned, lip trembling, lowering her hands. "That won't solve anything."

"Speak for yourself," Sasuke muttered, wincing slightly as the air permeated his wounded nose and stung; Lee's face was contorted in pain.

"Shut up!"

"Don't take it out on her," Lee growled, eyes narrowed. Sasuke chuckled quietly and his lip curled in a sneer.

Sakura already had blue chakra physically present, emanating from her fingers as they rushed again–

Naruto appeared behind Sasuke, Shikmaru behind Lee, and each dragged the fighting shinobi away from each other: Lee was livid and still fighting back tears while Sasuke's eyes were wide and animalistic, already red and so reminiscent of blood. Hinata was wading as fast as she could across the water while Ino passed her, swimming powerfully, face stricken.

"I'LL _KILL_ YOU!"

"STOP BLAMING EVERYBODY ELSE FOR TENTEN'S DEATH!"

"DO _NOT_ TAKE YOUR ANGER OUT ON SAKURA!"

"I'M NOT! FOR THE RECORD, I WAS AIMING FOR _YOU_!" Sasuke screamed, the last syllable coming out in a high pitch of insane mirth; Lee jerked forward but now Ino was there, holding him back, and the Uchiha roared in frustration.

"What should we do with Tenten's body? We can't leave it here," Sakura said, still keeping her body between the boys if need be for more interference.

"Remember...what the scroll said?" Hinata murmured quietly. "The ones who control this game cannot be seen...but they will take the injured or deceased out, that's what it said."

"We can't just let them...we have to get _ourselves _out too! Look at what's been happening! It's crazy! There's just _no way _we can keep doing this!" Ino protested, ducking one of Lee's raging fists.

"IF YOU DON'T CALM YOURSELF I'M GONNA HAVE TO RESTRAIN YOU!" Shikamaru roared, shoving Lee ruthlessly to the ground. His temper was so rare to see. Sasuke was muttering, egging the shinobi on under his breath...grinning, he wormed his hand free and twirled a shuriken in his fingers–

"Damn it!" Naruto swore, quickly yanking the weapon from his side and trying to get back to Sasuke, who thrust a kunai at Shikamaru to keep him at bay and leapt on Lee, baring his teeth like an animal as his fist collided with Lee's skull.

Lee swiftly kneed him in the ribs, sending Sasuke into the air, then jumped up to meet him, relentlessly punching every bit of the Uchiha he could reach, but his rival countered by slashing at him with a kunai and a sickeningly on-target right hook at the jaw that sent Lee flat on his back into the dust. Temporarily paralyzed, Sasuke leapt on him again, but knees came up to meet him and control the distance in between as he was pushed over and tumbled into a somersault. Whirling around he effectively caught Lee's ankle inches from his face and forced him to backflip away, livid.

"Let them fight it out," Shikamaru muttered, low and slow, putting out an arm to make the rest of them back up; they all complied except Sakura, who stood stock-still, staring at the two men really,_ truly_ hurting each other...all for her. It made her sick to watch.

She'd barely stepped forward when Shikamaru shoved her back into Hinata.

"Did you hear me? They're ready to kill each other, and they'll kill you too!"

He lunged; she twisted out of his grasp, put her hands together and took careful aim before breaking a rib with her elbow and just a bit of well-placed chakra; Ino caught him before he hit the ground and Sakura was sprinting as fast as she could towards the two...hoping she could do something.

"Shikamaru," Ino whispered, lowering him to the ground. Naruto decided to take charge.

"Hinata, get Tenten and pull her over here to a safer place...I have to get Sakura out of there." Hinata seemed shocked at his request but nodded, swallowed and hurried to the still-crumpled corpse on the ground, while Naruto summoned his clones to hopefully stop the fight.

Now Sasuke and Lee were on the ground, rolling over and over and continuing to clash like men in a drunken bar fight; no technique, no clear thought, just the utter want of bloodshed and pride. Sasuke had him in a headlock and stood, holding the shinobi off the ground and cutting off his air until his victim jammed a powerful heel into the side of his knee. It snapped with a sickening sound and he dropped Lee, who stumbled and fell dizzily from his rush of oxygen...Sasuke swayed and collapsed, all his weight on his injured leg. Still he tried to drag himself off the ground and crawled awkwardly...Lee raised his head, breathing heavily, to see him coming, kunai glinting in his bared teeth, dragging his body like a wounded animal.

Clutching his ribs, the taijutsu specialist rolled over on his side and groaned as he tried to bully his body into moving, to get away if he could, but failed to do so and now dragged himself by his arms; Sasuke chuckled insanely and, with an insurmountable shock of pain, forced himself to stand, all weight on his left...even without the pressure, it shook so dangerously it looked as though bones did not exist within. Sweeping a shaking hand across his eye, he smeared blood across his eyebrow and removed the kunai from his teeth, the intensity of his Sharingan increasing tenfold as he sensed every little movement–

_Behind me._

Completely around he spun and slammed the metal weapon into someone's chest; that person choked in pain but still succeeded in tackling him to the ground. Crying out as the wind was knocked out of him, he laid on his back, staining the ground, hearing Lee cursing at him for something...

"WHY DID YOU_ DO_ THAT?"

Pink hair was fanned out over his face.

There was a cry of fury and a loud thud; Naruto's clones were restraining the now enraged Lee from getting at Sasuke, who shoved Sakura off him and rolled onto his stomach, seething.

_You've hurt her again._

_The person you are supposedly fighting to protect._

_How come you seem to hurt everybody that is around you?_

Stomach churning, he let his face fall into the dirt and put his fingers around the tool in her chest; tensing, he yanked it out and threw it at Lee, but a clone deflected it.

Breathing shallowly, Sakura clutched at her chest and was silent, slowly summoning her blinding green chakra into her hands...a wound there was dangerous and nothing to leave untended. A tear escaped from beneath her eyelids and fell into the dirt and she pressed her fingers against herself, gritting her teeth...after a moment or two, the skin began to stitch itself back together.

She screamed.

_She collapsed in the dirt without another word...even Kakashi, who had seen and endured so many things of so many sensitive subjects, was wary of the boy. Insanity like no other. _

"_Sasuke–"_

"_DON'T FUCKING TALK! DON'T SAY A WORD! GOD NO!" he roared, falling to his knees in the desolate blanket of snow...swirls and drops and distorted pictures painted in wine and in blood, her blood as if on a resolutely white canvas...the picture of his worthless life, a depiction of yet another dangerous mistake. _

_It hurt to hear her continue to talk:_

"_I'm sorry, Sasuke...if you really had not wanted to come...I just thought you could, maybe, relax."_

"_SHUT UP!" _

_He turned around to see her crumpled in the snow...the distant sound of festivities were a humming in his ears...And her mother, dear god, her poor mother was beside herself with her own screams of despair..._

_He choked. It reminded him of pain...of his mother...he hurt everything that came too close–_

"_S-s...Sakura..." _

"_DON'T YOU SAY HER NAME!" her mother screamed, throwing herself upon her daughter's curled body as if shielding it from his wrath._

"_But I'm–"_

"_Your apologies don't mean anything to me! Leave her ALONE!" the devoted mother shrieked. _

"_But they do to **me**," Sakura whispered, staring up at the blank sky dotted with little pinpointed stars of white. "Don't blame him." Devotion in her voice killed him so._

"_Don't make excuses for me," Sasuke admitted, clutching his head that was hung in regret. "Just.** Don't**."_

Blood spilled again...from him, for him, because of him.

"Sa...Saku–ra," Sasuke choked out...nearly hyperventilating, the medic ignored him and continued to save herself, occasionally raising her head to spit out the blood from her mouth.

"I...I didn't mean–AUGH!" His words were cut off by the heel of her hand jabbing the side of his neck, denying him oxygen for a moment so he could not continue. Now shaking, he tried again, but was so exhausted he could not form the words.

Sakura whimpered and he looked at her the best he could, the eye visible to the world nearly swollen shut, nothing but an onyx slit. She let her head fall back and screamed, putting everyone into silence: Lee stopped struggling, Naruto's clones disappeared and Ino and Shikamaru were now running forward, stricken. Hinata brought up the rear, carrying Tenten gently in her arms.

"Sakura," Naruto muttered, leaving Lee in the care of the others and kneeling at her head; gently, he sat her up as she let her hands fall to her sides, chest healed–or at least, she stopped the blood.

"You're fucking lucky it wasn't worse," Naruto snapped at Sasuke, who was still on his stomach, bleeding, eye now completely shut.

"Sa...ku...ra." He choked out her name in a raspy, strained voice and just wanted to pass out at this point.

Luckily, Sakura would give him that benefit. Putting her fingertips together, her experienced genjutsu did not call for words anymore...the feathers fell only on his body, and then she placed her hand on the back of Sasuke's head, nearly in tears.

"The next battle you fight...is with me," she whispered, before shoving his face into the blood-soaked dirt. He didn't feel it.

He was asleep before his head hit the ground.

* * *

A hurried flight through the open window: Her lips were swollen and bloody from the complimentary slap she received in addition to the scarring incident she had been forced to witness...as the ringing sound echoed on the tile, adding insult to injury. 

Hikari retched on her back, coughing up the contents of her empty stomach; burning yellow acid trickled back into her throat and she clutched at it; sobbing.

Kami screamed.

"SOMEONE _HELP_ HER!"

The door was quite literally slammed off it's hinges as the replacement assistant for Sakura burst into the room, with more orderlies appearing from other rooms; the medic's expression was horrified as she stared at the tiny blonde girl on the floor. In a puddle of her own, bright crimson bodily fluid, while her best friend shook violently, hugging herself and looking close to a nervous breakdown.

Wind blew fiercely through the open window, the telltale leaves blowing ominously to decorate where Hikari laid.

"Get me Tsunade, this instant!" she snapped, rolling up her white sleeves and kneeling in the blood to check for a pulse; Kami clutched at her head and slid to the floor in a heap, the side of her face warm.

The taste...on her lips. The smell...all around. The touch...her own blood.

_Bloody eyes._

"Who did this?" the medic demanded, lifting her roughly off the ground by her shoulders, shaking her back and forth in panic. "DID YOU _SEE_?"

Kami was stricken, mouth slightly open in her deep-rooted shock. It had happened so quickly, effortlessly, and she was forced to revisit and stare again...those eyes...

_Take her...take her and go! Please, I beg of you, keep my little daughter safe. _Her mother's words. Where was her mother now? Back home. And she had been shipped here, under heavy protection, to Kohona.

Yet it was really the target. A protected target, waiting it out in fear.

The murdering prodigy: Uchiha Itachi.

"N-no," Kami stuttered, and the medic let her slide to the floor, resting in the warmth of death. She turned her face into the flooded floor and breathed in–

The liquid stung as she tasted it inside, at the back of her raw throat and it was just too good...easing the pain...wanting so badly to drown in it.

"I must die too."

"What are you trying to _do_?" the medic screeched, yanking her off the floor and sitting her up; "Get me another stretcher, and someone to hold her down!"

_But I want to die...he will return and I cannot handle suffering...and I do not want to betray your secret. For Kohona is so unaware...I cannot keep this secret..._

"I must die with her!" Kami screamed, slapping her hand into the puddle and sending paint flecks on the faces near her; the nurse that had been reaching for her flinched from it and Hikari remained motionless. "He'll come back for me and make me talk!"

"Please, he'll come back–for–me," she choked, slumping forward onto Hikari's chest and clutching at her simple shirt; the assistant medic lowered her hand with the syringe in it, finger shaking as it rested on the top. Kami was unconscious.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" Tsunade raged, snatching the empty syringe from the assistant and handing it to an orderly. Her gaze was so fierce that the woman stood and went to do her job somewhere else.

Kami was nearly unconscious...but her mind replayed the past few minutes ruthlessly...

"Idiot. Putting her out...we need to know what she saw." Tsunade took a deep breath and closed her eyes, muttering the order quietly. "Get Kurenai."

Kurenai ceased her crying and jerked her head up, oblivious to Kakashi's concerned expression as she watched the medic's progress; she was running in her white heels across the dusty ground that was around the outside of Area 13, expression frightened. How she knew the message was for her, she could tell, and for what, she had a terrible feeling. The time was bound to come sooner or later, eventually, and Kakashi narrowed his eyes as the nurse ran right up to Kurenai, who was a bit taller, and bent to catch her breath.

"Tsunade...needs...you to...come here...your help," she stuttered, clutching a stitch in her side. Kakashi frowned not out of suspicion, but confusion. The way Kurenai seemed to grimace, but nodded almost against her will, there was no option of disobeying. But why would she agree to whatever it was so painfully?

"Kurenai," Kakashi began, but Kurenai placed her fingers together and disappeared, leaving the gray-haired jounin to stare at the nurse with a questioning look on his face. She did not dare ignore his intense gaze.

"What's going on?"

The nurse opened her mouth, but her eyebrows furrowed in hesitation and instead her jaw clenched shut; she was unsure of whether to tell him all she knew or just let him come along. She chose the latter.

"Come along, sir," she said, motioning for him to follow her back to the infirmary, but he folded his arms in annoyance...it would take too long for his standards.

"Sir? OH!" She screeched as he picked her up by her small waist, held her in a football carry, and used one hand to transport them up to the infirmary–

"Kurenai." Kakashi let the nurse down and stopped abruptly: Smeared across the sea-green tile was the remnants of the little blonde's insides, while Tsunade was talking to Kurenai in a low voice. The red-haired jounin had a hand on the child's forehead and a blank look on her face, but Kakashi could tell she was frightened of whatever she was about to do. When he uttered her name she looked up at him, piercing red eyes showing an emotion he could not read...the little girl with the pink eyes was on a bed not too far away, motionless.

Hikari's eyelids fluttered...

"What is going on?" he inquired again in such a tone that it commanded everyone's attention; Tsunade stared at Kurenai and the lifeless girl for a second, then swallowed and turned to Kakashi.

"There was another attack...but both girls are incapacitated and incapable of talking at this moment...this is too dangerous...I _need_ Kurenai to perform this jutsu for me," the Sannin said in a low, serious voice; Kurenai closed her eyes and suppressed a shudder, making Kakashi question.

"Why–"

"But...It's not perfected...it will only work for a few minutes at the most," the red-head whispered, not daring to look at anyone else. There was such obvious fright in her eyes.

"A few minutes is all we need," Tsunade said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Ready?"

Kurenai nodded; Tsunade put out an arm and motioned for them to back away and give space as the jounin dipped her finger in the drying blood that was around the blonde's body. A short girl stepped forward with a clipboard and pen in hand, poised, eyes sharp and at the ready.

"What..." Kakashi trailed off in puzzlement, and locked gazes with the jounin on the floor, who took the bloody finger and pressed it against her forehead, leaving the imprint, vibrant and red. Her eyes held fear, yet told him not to worry. After a long moment, he folded his arms.

_You have some explaining to do._

Breaking the gaze, she kneeled in the puddle with her fingers at the ready, suspended over the child's chest as the blood slowly soaked her bandaged knees...hands shook slightly as she performed the hand signs with careful precision, muttering each syllable from her throat, unintelligible to the others. Tsunade watched stonily from her spot against the wall, grimacing in revulsion from the smeared blood, and grabbed the back of Kakashi's vest to drag him out of the way–

The redhead made a circle of her hands, a typical sign in genjutsu, and positioned them, hovering, over the little girl's head...the silence was too much so for the copy nin's taste, and his eyes widened in a sudden thought, an understanding...but he would never believe his friend, _Kurenai_, was capable of such a jutsu...

Eyes snapping open, Kurenai swallowed hard and gave one last shudder...before her hands exploded in blinding light...

And in one blink, her eyes were an icy, frosty blue, the exact shade of Hikari's. Kakashi held his breath.

It began–

The lines spoken tumbled off Kurenai's red lips so quickly as her entire body shook, one eye occasionally twitching in response to the mental and emotional beating her mind was taking as she watched the attack...through Hikari's eyes...as if reiterating a script so words did flow. Kakashi was torn with the horror in her eyes and the different pitches and tones he could decipher from her throaty murmurs: Kami's hoarse voice, Hikari's hurried and crude dialect, voices from older shinobi, male and female alike, that held no remorse...the girl with the clipboard made a strange sob in her throat; her hand flying across the surface with loud taps–

Abruptly Kurenai shrieked in Hikari's voice, and Itachi's monotonous but firm tone drowned it out, cutting across the scream–

"And unless you want to end up like her...keep your mouth _shut_!" Many flinched in response to the frighteningly familiar voice of the prodigy, which erupted in the silence as the last word was ruthlessly spat with such a vibe of hate that it hurt to hear. Emotion from the emotionless soul. Kakashi was frozen, watching the series of expressions her face took on as she tapped into the little girl's mind, seeing all that she saw, feeling everything she felt–

Kurenai's face crumpled as she flinched from the invisible slap that the village girl had presumably received, then began to retch and shake worse, while the annoying taps and sounds of the pen continued–

From her painted red lips were the final words spoken... "Tha' man with bloody eyes...Eh-Tachi," she whispered in the dialect, "Don' break...don' speak...I wan' you to live..."

Kakashi raised his hand, but Tsunade slapped his wrist down firmly, keeping her powerful grip around it. "Don't watch."

The intense glow died and receded from Kurenai's shaking hands, and slowly but surely her eyes faded into the tunneling red ones Kakashi knew so well; resolutely white fingers fell apart, breaking the sign and clutching at her head–

And the jounin crumpled from exhaustion in the puddle.

The copy nin was shaking himself...almost livid, and stepping calmly around the bed and stooping, he lifted Kurenai's limp form into his arms. The girl handed the clipboard to Tsunade, whose eyes skimmed the notes and said, "Excellent." To Kakashi: "I am sorry...but tell her thank you, from me. She just needs rest."

Kakashi nodded and turned carefully to carry the redhead through the doorway, coming face to face with Anko. His eyes narrowed; behind her was a delegate of young Chuunin who seemed stricken and paralyzed with fear...Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, all of thirteen and from the look in their eyes...there was a sense of lost innocence.

For a long moment the gray-haired man stared at her and she stared right back, both expressions hardened and blank. Then they took their separate ways, without a word.

For the last time.

Kakashi's footsteps echoed on the tiled floor and Anko's were firm and commanding as she stepped through the doorway and let the children stare, wide-eyed, into nothing. Moegi had her hand in Konohamaru's, but he was unusually unresponsive to her vain attempt to sympathize. Toothpick in teeth, he chewed on it and was struggling...not to let a single tear fall, trying to be strong.

"...Tsunade?"

Every face turned to see the proctor shaking, putting a gentle hand on the grandson's shoulder.

"Sarutobi...I mean...the 3rd Hokage's body has been...found."

Konohamaru's toothpick snapped and fell to the floor as Tsunade punched her hand through the wall.

* * *

The replacement assistant medic threw her clipboard against the wall and clutched her head. 

_God damn...I made a stupid mistake...if they suspect..._

"Something happened."

She froze. She had forgotten. He had a hold on her mind. He heard everything.

"They've called a woman in...genjutsu specialist...she's performing one of the forbidden techniques..."

"How far into that girl's mind can she penetrate?"

The head assistant swallowed. "She's not good at it. Only a few minutes, but that's all the time she needs. It'll leave her bedridden, for certain."

"Kill her," he told her lightly, no room for argument or excuses.

"But they had a recorder...they already know what happened."

"Doesn't matter. If she could perform that, there's no telling...if there are more suspicions, as Tsunade could easily act upon for she is now Hokage, the right planted spy's mind could spill everything. Kill. Her."

"But that man that is with her...Kakashi...I could not do it with him. He would figure it out."

There was a pause from the mental beating. "Hatake...Kakashi? The copy ninja?"

"Yes. He is protective of her."

Another pause.

"You can handle it," he told her monotonously, ending the conversation there.

_But I can't...I'm so sick of killing..._

From his hovel in the dark, where the needles with which his fingers toyed caught the glint of his blood-red eyes, he spoke firmly but emotionlessly to one of his many, many puppets:

"But _I_ am not."

* * *

"_Naruto."_

_The blonde raised his head to acknowledge his friend; dancing firelight cast nightmarish shadows across the room, flickering, like the inside of his mind. His pacing did not cease, but he did his routine. A glare at the door, a narrowed gaze at the phone that he could almost hear, the familiar ringing that he jumped at every now and then when his unconscious made him hear it. Clocks throughout the house ticked and clunked as gears shifted into place of uninterrupted and unconscious accord:_

_As the next day came with twelve echoing chimes, his patience was gone._

_Naruto did not jump as an angry fist slammed itself into the stone wall and the eerie sound of shattered bone made their former Sensei raise his head. For once there was nothing occupying him but the gentle, swaying branches that were silhouetted against the cold glass window. _

"_Sasuke," Naruto began cautiously in a hushed voice...the anger radiating from the raven-haired shinobi was like a tense string; easily snapped by almost any little thing. Fist still cradled in the indent that he had created, warm blood ran down the trenches between knuckles, ignored. _

"_She's late."_

"_I know."_

"_It happens," Kakashi said firmly, folding his arms and shaking his head at his former student. Sasuke leaned against the arm still stretched out, holding his weight from his fatigue. Officially twenty-four sleepless hours. _

"_Where is she?" His monosyllabic words went unanswered, for he knew what the reply would be and it never comforted him._

"_Don't you hover over her when she walks in," the man warned, heavily rising from his chair. _

_Head snapping up, the Uchiha glared at him with an expression that was meant to be intimidating, angry, fierce. But for one fleeting moment, the black tunnels that were his eyes softened in emotion...in fear. So slight and sudden was his reaction, in which it held so much and in the shadows that were invisible there was something called doubt. And it faded, leaving etched lines of fury in it's place. _

_3 heads snapped around as she stepped over the threshold, footsteps heavy and out of sync as she tripped, catching herself at the door; Naruto rose but Sasuke was already there, standing in front of her with arms folded and furious glare set. He waited for her to say something, but she felt the wall and stumbled past him, as if he were a piece of furniture. Toward the bathroom. _

_Kakashi took the bag from her shoulder and slid it off and she did not react, but continued to walk toward the back of the house, oblivious to the dark and to the living beings around her. Arms out to feel, she sighed a bit wearily and the loud slam of an exhausted body hitting the closed wooden door made Sasuke stalk angrily across the floor; he opened it._

_Her knees hit the cold tile and he quietly switched on the light, shocked at the sight that blinded him when the dazzling white light came on. _

_She held herself up on shaking arms painted crimson, clutching at her chest with a blank gaze as her eyes slid in and out of focus at the cabinet in front of her. Sasuke's heart screeched to a stop and he picked her up so easily and roughly dropped her on the counter, dark eyes darting to every limb, every part of her, wondering where it came from...it was everywhere, staining her white medic coat and blotched on her chest...her head fell back against the mirror and lolled on her shoulder and Sasuke caught a breath in his throat, livid and stunned._

_Fingers fumbling with the buttons, he hurriedly worked with her coat, every now and then shoving her upright against the mirror as her exhausted body tipped precariously, jade eyes open but not focused on anything in particular. He caught a glimpse of his own face in the mirror: resolutely pale. The coat fluttered to the floor and he saw his housemates reflected, in the doorway, both silent and puzzled. _

_Sakura trembled and fell forward as if she wanted to curl up into herself and remain that way; Sasuke's eyebrow's were furrowed in concentration as he checked her limbs, trying to find out where it was all coming from. _

_With a sudden understanding, he swept a hand across the red on her cheek: It was dry. _

_Confirming it was not her own blood she was soaked in, he firmly placed a hand between her breasts, against her sternum, and breathed again...no wounds. _

_Uttering a soft, strained moan, she slumped forward again, but this time her body was roughly grabbed and captured in his arms that held her to him...glancing at himself in the mirror, he recognized his expression again that he so hated...the frightened gaze of a little boy...afraid, full of fear and doubt...rising within him once again. Of the childish fear that stirred within, and had never been obliterated from his mind, only suppressed. A feeling that he always quelled in all presences. _

_And just as before, quickly replaced by his angry gaze, full of the fury and protectiveness that everyone else would see. One day this routine would have a different outcome._

_Relieved to hear her heartbeat, however tired and slowly it was, against his chest. _

* * *

"I valued her friendship as a faithful member of Team Gai. May you be with the man you so idolized, Neji Hyuga. May you, Tenten, rest in peace for eternity...you will _never_ be forgotten. " 

These words made him yearn for consciousness, while his body felt fine and relaxed, the atmosphere was solemn. It took him a few moments of silence to realize the nightmare had ended and he was resting gently in someone's arms, with a chin resting on top of his head and a cold hand cradled to hold him.

And through a slitted onyx gaze he saw the world: Her body lying in the middle of a ring of flowers with no headstone to grace it, hands folded delicately on her chest and eyelids closed, the purple tinge vibrant against palest skin. Eyebrows were furrowed as though her last thoughts had been of confusion, a problem that she had not gotten the chance to solve. Kneeling at her side, the speaker, was Lee.

Even with this death, Sasuke felt nothing short of boiling, clawing hatred when he looked at him.

Next to him was Naruto, expression stony but tearless compared to Hinata, who was clutching his jacket and sobbing, not even looking at the procession. Ino had her arms folded in defense against the ones who called her weak, though Shikamaru had his arms around her waist and a toothpick in his mouth, also silent.

He shook; a tear of ice landed on his scalp and he jerked, but when she looked down at him his eye snapped shut.

Sakura's voice was laden with regret and sorrow. "Lee. Leave her now."

A pause. "They will...take care of her?"

She lied. "They will."

Sasuke listened to them back away in twos, and she gently turned his face into her soft breast, obscuring his vision. "Close your eyes, Lee."

He must have listened, for there was a tense and chill that descended over each of them as the sound of whirling leaves signaled the ones who came to take her out and away.

Sakura whimpered softly, tightening her hold, and Sasuke opened his eye once again and turned his head as much as he could, to see the empty ring of flowers where her body had been. She looked down at him, eyes brimming with tears, and then at Lee, who even in his grief held anger toward her that was so blatant it hurt. Sakura's gaze of pity hardened considerably, and even when she looked the man in her arms he received it too. All three of them had no patience left, and this problem would be addressed here and now.

"Sakura," Lee began, "I must speak with you. Now."

Sasuke reluctantly stood and folded his arms, enduring her look of fury toward him and stabbing Lee with one too before slowly following behind him, the back of her neck red. A glance back at the Uchiha told him he was not safe from her wrath either.

"_The next battle you fight...is with me."_

* * *

"This has to stop." 

Sakura hung her head. "I know that."

"You do not understand how hard it is to sit here and watch him do this to you...he is unstable and he takes his anger out on you, when all you have ever tried to do in the years you have known him is help. He does not accept it...stop trying," Lee rattled off, the words that he had been wanting to get off his chest for so long; Sakura wrapped her arms around herself, silent.

"I can't do that, Lee," she muttered. "You don't understand."

"I do not–_I _do not understand?"he sputtered incredulously, throwing his arms out, eyes round and full of emotion. "No, actually, I am starting to understand, finally.You had fun leading me along like a puppy, did you not?_"_

"HOW COULD YOU _SAY_ THAT?"Sakura screamed, grabbing the front of his jacket and pulling him close, something she did when people were pushing her to limits. "How many times do I have to tell you that I broke up with you because it was for the best? Do you really doubt me that much?"

"And he just_ happened_ to come home so soon?And all he did was hurt you, Sakura, causing you pain that I would do anything to stop...anything," he muttered, his anger fading so quickly...it never failed...he could just never stay angry at her. "_Why_ do you love him?"

"I..." She could not answer it. How could she begin?

"Why did you love _me_?" Sakura seemed startled by her own question and fell silent, gently letting her fingers trail down his chest...Lee's face softened slightly, but his voice was wavering in his reply.

"Do not ask a question in response to a qu–"

"Honestly," she whispered, jade eyes staring right through him, instantaneously demanding yet pleading for an answer that was as true as could be and would satisfy her heart.

He hesitated, on a quest to word it carefully.Describing such a thing...

"You," he began, pausing again, "are...you...just the way you devote so much of yourself, of your heart, your love to everything you do and everyone that is around you. You struggle so much to improve yourself and while you have grown, this I have watched," he assured, gently taking her hands and rubbing her fingers, staring down at them...her eyes were swimming with tears that he did not dare look at. "I am loyal to you, as I have promised you twice. Once when we were young, and once again."

Too much...her sniffles made his face contort itself into a painful expression.

"And maybe it was because...something in the back of my mind told me...that there was a reason I was always in second place. I could not ever have you."

Sakura burst into tears, digging her fingernails into his palms.

"But you probably never understood how happy you made me, every time I was with you, every time I thought about you, and even when you fell asleep and I heard you breathe."

"I know...and I felt it too–"

"But anyone can see that you have poured your heart into helping Sasuke," he continued, only a hint of regret and jealousy there. "So..."

Sakura was now sobbing...and even though he knew he shouldn't, he held her in his strong arms and stroked her hair gently, not daring to give it up however much of a lost cause it was. Something that had fallen apart and simply put, never meant to be...

But he had one last chance...and he was ready to pay for it.

With a gentle finger he tilted her head up and she was forced to stare at him and endure the words he spoke with his eyes; that this was over. And it had to be. To let her go so she could pursue the one she had given herself to for her childhood and her life, proved by over six years of pain; what she put herself through to love him and hate him.

"Did he ever know?" Lee asked, dark eyes boring into hers. She would not lie; she never had.

"No. It would hurt him, I think. Even if he didn't tell me...it'd hurt him more than he'd ever admit. He's like that."

"Okay. He'll know eventually," Lee said quietly, implying that someone be the one to tell him, and it had to be her.

Sakura's expression hardened and it was as though she had finally decided something...biting her lip, steeling herself to do whatever she had settled on. At first she leaned in, paused, and retreated, still fighting with her Inner.

_It'll hurt him so bad..._

_**He doesn't own you.**_

_But he'll get angry..._

_**Since when has he cared?**_

_It'll kill him..._

_**He has no respect for you and you know it. Show him what he's missing out on. **_

_I can't do that to him._

_**He had his chance. He still does. Show him how it feels. No strings attached, Sakura.**_

"No strings attached," Sakura repeated in a whisper, and before Lee could ask what she meant, her arms were around his neck and lips against his.

She gave him no choice...she had him under her spell and for the first time she was forcing him in this position on purpose because she knew how badly Sasuke would react. And it might be the only thing to finally push him over the edge and make him agree to her rules. While deep in her heart the old affections and words ran through her mind, this last kiss, this last time, was to make everything official and to seal the pact...she had to let it go, no matter how much it hurt. Even if he had been the first person to make her truly happy like this, able to giggle like a girl and talk on the phone about it late into the night, ignoring everything that went wrong if only for the few minutes she heard his voice. For the few seconds that they sat on the phone and listened to each other hold their breaths, waiting for the other to hang up in reluctance. But she would give up that happiness, because she had a goal that she dared not fail at, for herself and for him.

She had promised herself: She would push and pull away, she would play his game and bring him to her. She would make him realized his own mistakes, and she would help him with whatever it took to know the little boy inside and the man he had grown to be.

She _would_ claim Sasuke Uchiha.

This in mind, she wrapped her legs around Lee's waist and pulled away for a moment, whispering against his lips. "I loved you." In her mind, she thanked him for being seated comfortably in second place, and she put every ounce of herself into showing him what she had once possessed for him. The love of a not-so-little Sakura Haruno.

As she continued to taste him rapturously, gently wrestling with his tongue, she hoped that Sasuke was watching, burning with jealousy, and that he would come soon and confront her. She truly hoped.

A chill traveled swiftly down her back and she recognized the intoxicating scent of his fire. Grinning against Lee's lips, he opened his eyes and saw her expression of delight and seemed a bit saddened. A deep breath; he planted one last tender kiss on her forehead before letting go of her thighs so she could stand on her own again and wait.

"**SASUKE, DON'T!**"

Lee could not track him, but Sakura was more than ready; she had known him for too long to not expect his frontal attack, spurred to heights from his blind rage. He would not be thinking straight, not after bearing witness to this. Quickly her arms were up in front of her locked defensively, which would not be enough, but she had the one thing that was easy as breathing to her, and now it was a weapon she wielded with an overconfidence. She could do whatever she pleased; walls, shields, illusions, weapons, you name it, and it was only bound by imagination:

She did not cry out as his powerful arm came down on hers; the blinding signature light of a charging pre-Chidori blow flashed in her eyes as if from a camera and she smirked as she pushed him back. All of the power had been directed into nothing but a rounded wall of chakra that now shattered to the ground like glass, but faded, having been nothing but energy. He still held his arm against both of hers, eyes a dangerous bloody color as he surveyed the girl with his beyond furious gaze, as if he'd love nothing better than to kill her right then and there.

But when he realized who he had hit, he stumbled back and roared like the enraged animal he certainly resembled at this point, body shaking in anger and the swift draining exhaustion from attempting a killing blow without the speed or power buildup. He seemed shocked she had even deflected the attack, amazed at her strength, but she could imagine what his mind must be...an echoing tomb of a million words that meant nothing to him.

"**YOU**!"

"Lee didn't do anything wrong, Sasuke–"

"**HE**–"

"Only kissed me back."

Sasuke let his shaking finger fall, breathing heavily as he stared at her, a muscle twitching in his lip as he attempted a pretentious smirk. Wanted effect was not achieved. Forcing himself to relax was proving so difficult, and Sakura would watch him squirm as he tried to gain the upper hand in this situation.

"So," he began, hitching a degrading smile on his face, "Guess you were busy while I was gone, huh Sakura?" He spoke this way for reputation...he was really asking _how could you?_

"More than you know," she replied lightly. _I needed **somebody.**_

"I see your stamina and strength have increased as well. I'd be impressed, but frankly," he shrugged nonchalantly, and the only thing giving away how he felt was the hurtful look in his eyes that right now only Sakura could see. _How dare you improve yourself while I was away? _

"Didn't I say I was stronger than you would think?" _I'm going to prove it to you. Make no mistake. I want respect._

"I still don't believe you. Think clearly, Sakura," Sasuke said, shaking his head as though it were a simple debate over chocolate and vanilla. "Be realistic."

"Erm, Sasuke–"

"Quiet, Naruto," Sasuke snapped, and once again his slight accent spat the words with such anger that the blonde did not continue. Fixing his dark gaze on the girl before him... "You can't spend years and years attempting to harvest nothing. A lost cause." _I won't believe it._

"Believe it or not, working your hardest _can_ get your somewhere." _Lee tried to tell you that. That's what I did. _"You don't have to learn everything quickly...the talents that take the longest to acquire are worth it when you succeed." _Just because I can't learn assassination techniques...Chidori won't help you against Itachi._

"I guess I could see that...though you sure talk a lot for a girl who spent most of her Genin days spouting information like an encyclopedia and then crying every time something dangerous came along." _You're too innocent to live this way, Sakura. You deserve much more than the constant game of life and death. _

She clenched her jaw and Naruto nearly opened his mouth to curse him out, but desisted; he knew Sakura would have to get herself out of this one herself.

"I was 12. I've changed." _A bit. _

"I don't believe that either." _On the outside, definitely. Any fool could see that. But you haven't grown on the inside. _"And you expect me to believe that you have somehow become a completely different person? Someone who could I could consider an equal?"

"I've always deserved respect Sasuke. And I'm going to knock your pompous ass down a few pegs and show you that, so you can stop spitting on the people who've done nothing but care about you." _I'll show you. _

"And how do you plan to do that, Sakura?" he asked, taking a step closer to her so the tip of her nose touched his chest; she glared up at him fiercely and gave him a ruthless two-hand shove. All he did was laugh at her, shaking his head like she was a child. Not even giving her a chance.

Catching her off guard, he shoved her to the ground; Lee backed away, knowing that Sakura could handle herself and did not want to interfere. Sasuke snorted in amusement and turned his back on her, which she should have known by prior encounters that it was a mistake.

She kidney punched him; his knees buckled and he whirled around to be dragged against her by her fists curled around the front of his shirt; glaring back at her sadistic expression, he jerked as she leaned forward. Closer, until her lips were brushing his and not only was his heartbeat out of control, the hair on the back of his neck was straight up.

"So Sasuke," she whispered huskily, "Did you like watching me _kiss Lee_?"

Her words echoed in his mind ruthlessly, a never ending chorus; he was beside himself as she accented her last two words obviously, his control was slipping as her soft lips told him every syllable. He didn't know why he was so angry or why he even cared...but seeing her smiling about it? _Fuck no._

"I don't care," Sasuke muttered, shoving her away again and turning his back on her once more. She kept talking as he began to walk away.

"You know why I liked Lee? He gave me respect. He was honest. He had the courage to ask for help when he needed it, he cared about every person that cared about him and then some. He didn't treat someone who gives everything to him, does anything she can to help him, like something on the bottom of his shoe!"

Sasuke stopped walking, but kept his head down.

"He loved me for who I was, without hesitation and didn't constantly call me weak and defenseless. He praised me for my efforts and actually helped me train so I could become as strong as I wanted to be, and taught, along with Tsunade and Naruto and even Kakashi. Instead of just sitting around telling me to get stronger."

"I would've–" The entire group seemed shocked as he cut off his words, biting down on his tongue to shut himself up. _I would've...if I'd...maybe...thought about it. I didn't give you the time. _

"He made me happy. I could act myself around him instead of constantly worrying about the things that came out of my mouth. I didn't need to push and pull and strain for him to talk or for once, to care about me." _Even though I know you do care...but it kills you to admit that. _

"He could admit his mistakes. You never did. You never can." _Even though I love it when you act so tough. _"And like I said, he gave me respect. Respect that I deserve and that you won't give me."

"And I asked you before!" Sasuke said, whirling around with his fists clenched. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU PLAN TO DO ABOUT IT?"

"Fight me."

A very pregnant pause.

"Hn?" _She's crazy. _

"Don't 'hn' me, you heard exactly what I said. You're tough, right? You don't care about me, so what's a fight going to hurt?"

Sasuke was silent. Too silent.

"No."

"Why?"

"Hn."

"Stop talking in single syllables and grow some balls," she spat, leaving the others to stare at her in amazement. "Give me one good reason why you can't."

_Isn't that obvious? _He thought. "I...would hurt you."

"You really think so?" she asked mockingly, folding her arms. "And even if you did, I don't matter right? That's what you told me? You don't care. Do it. I dare you to throw a punch."

"You're being stupid," Sasuke snapped, stepping back a bit to widen the gap between the shinobi; they were quite a few feet apart. _What if I did hurt her?_

_You've** been** hurting her! Emotionally you've been killing her for years. Can't you get that? _Ignoring his rational side, he folded his arms and stared at her, eyes narrowed.

"You're afraid," Sakura murmured, smirking at him–it set him off.

"**WHAT **DID YOU SAY?" he roared, fists shaking in his pockets.

"STOP ACTING DEAF! You. Are. Afraid," she said slowly, mocking him. "You know you wouldn't dare hurt me."

"Shut up."

"No. You're afraid."

"SHUT UP."

"NO."

Her annoying chorus of 'you're afraid!' taunted him in his own mind for a moment, and she watched him with a satisfied smirk...it reminded him of himself.

_How dare she accuse me of being afraid? This little girl who used to cry over every mission and needed me to protect her–_

_But Naruto protected her too. And now you're just angry because she doesn't need someone to save her anymore. And she's right. She can handle herself._

"Go ahead, then, if you must," Sasuke said simply, arms still folded in emotional defense. "And I'll even let you have the first hit."

He stepped back a few more steps and stared her down, challenging her silently...a gentle wind rustled the trees and swirled clouds of dust past them both, and Sakura did not move. Then, with careful and deliberate movements, she took a deep breath and placed her fingertips together, but did not close her eyes. The dangerous, vibrant blue...the chakra that she could now manipulate into anything and it was powerful. She possessed a lot of it and could use it sparingly...only a little bit was needed to send her hopping through tree branches...and this man deserved a good punch. The color swirled around her hands like vines twisting of their own accord, weaving through her fingers and reflecting in her wide jade eyes that still stared into onyx, unfazed.

She took off running.

Sasuke stood there, not even blinking as she charged at him, smirking slightly as he watched her come closer and closer, bringing back her right arm that coursed with her dangerous chakra. In a physical presence it was impressive for anyone to be able to do, and it could be deadly...Lee stared at her, hoping she knew what she was doing, while Ino shook her head.

"He's screwed," she said quietly, watching the Uchiha stand there and not attempt a defense.

The air crackled with intensity and she drew closer, the look in her eyes warning him. But she wouldn't lose. Not to him. He'd regret it.

He stood his ground and one more leap and she would be in front of him–

And she skidded to a halt. Staring, she hovered a bit before lowering her right fist to her side, biting her lip. He let out a laugh and muttered, "I told you."

Nearly in tears, she raised her hand to him as if telling him to stop and her shaking fingers nearly touched the tip of his chest.

She poked him with one finger–

And he had no time to utter another laugh–

**SCHOOM.**

Through the foliage, across the dirt, body slammed through tree trunks ruthlessly with splinters stabbing at his skin as the vacuum of twisting chakra carried him in an endless tunnel to somewhere far away–

With a sickening sound of skull and bone on rock, his back slammed against the side of a rock face; his face was raised to the air as blood exploded from his mouth and landed on his face; he slid to the ground in a heap.

He didn't move.

Voices exploded in screams of terror and yells of worry as the shinobi's footsteps pounded against the dirt...Sakura was in the lead.

As the shadows fell upon his broken form, he snapped his head up and they stepped back in horror...predictably his eyes were red and rivets of crimson ran down his flawless skin, soaking his collar and down the shirt that was now torn by splinters and bushes...he grinned, teeth blindingly white against the blood that pooled in his jaw and lips as his countenance blazed with embarrassment and anger beside anything he had ever felt in his life...as his eyes darted from a splinted tree trunk here to the blood spattered across the ground there...and up to her face, her eyes that surveyed him with an almost sickeningly amused expression.

She had.

Hit him.

She had.

Hurt him.

She _was _strong.

"At least I didn't hit you with my left hand," she said quietly, lips twisted to keep herself from laughing. "My left hook hurts worse."

The others backed away as Sasuke struggled to get himself to his feet and took a step toward her, fists clenched with his own chakra becoming visible as the atmosphere spiraled into danger; she backed up a bit to grant him a bit of room to fall back, and eventually they stood facing each other, eyes locked on each others. Her chakra was flooding back to her hands and his was gathering in his, slightly whiter, the blinding color of lightening...his speed was easy to acquire in a moment's notice, so all he did was raise his arms and crossed them, staring at her. After a moment she did the same, seeing only his bloody eyes above his bandaged arms.

"So you want to do this?" _You've got some nerve. And you certainly have courage. _

"I'm going to prove this to you." _I said I would claim you. I meant it._

Invisible electricity danced in the air; Sasuke's hair was up like a ruffled dog's, and Sakura pursed her lips in an attempt to degrade. The sky around seemed to dim from the culmination of such energy and power that they were confining in their hands.

As a clap of thunder echoed in the swiftly darkening sky, so they took off as one, nothing in mind but pride.

They were two orbs of light traveling toward each other at a pace that tore the ground beneath their feet: The frightening echo of chirping birds frightened animals from their nests and filled the ears of their teammates, who were watching, rooted to the spot by fear. Fear of what would happen.

"STOP THEM!" Hinata shrieked, throwing herself forward but was caught and easily restrained by Naruto, who began to drag her away.

"Get back!" Ino ordered, fright in her eyes. She had seen both attacks. Chidori could kill. Enough chakra sent through the nervous system as a shock could kill. They had no intention of stopping. "GET BACK!" she repeated, dragging Shikamaru and motioning for Lee to follow; the latter retreated, reluctantly, as the invisible birds chirped louder.

"Naruto!" Hinata cried, staring up at him with a tearstained face. "They...they c-c-could kill each other!"

"They have to do this." Naruto held her against his chest and tried to ignore the sounds...the continued increasing intensity of the chirping, the invisible pulsing from Sakura's chakra, as if it possessed it's own heartbeat, her footsteps crumbling the dirt beneath her feet. The air grew thick and tense as the dancing electricity grew outward, reaching for any caught within it's grasp.

Sakura raised her fist again, letting out a strangled cry that was as loud as his–his arm was raised, ready for the jab...the jab that was known to kill. Still the other shinobi scrambled back and away as tiny sparks of electricity were felt against the skin as the sky seemed an ebony void in comparison–

"I'll never understand..." Naruto murmured to himself, clutching Hinata to him and watching their bodies fade resolutely into the blinding light as their fists aimed at each other, watching over her head...expressions set as they finally collided–

**BOOM.**

The deafening explosion put many things to shame–anything that was not already flat to the ground was now leveled in seconds, sending an inhuman wind across the area and throwing trees to the dirt–in beauty and in fear and in defiance they clashed, action hidden by the blinding white light that was now casting it's color on everything around...each shinobi raised his head to squint and try to find what was masked, but it cast a deadly silence...on an almost heavenly thing...

So they relied on sound, sending imaginations into squirming images of horror.

They roared. They screamed. They cried. Captured in the moment in the light, the light still so pure against the sky of black...

And their screams tangled like snakes and illustrated a promise.

_We have snapped the fine line._

* * *

0.0

Wow.


	20. Of Clashing Crimson Silhouettes

You guys are gonna haaaaate meeeeee. XD XD

But seriously I've set myself crying again...

I want feedback. I want to know how the action scenes went.

I rewrote this like...a million times.

* * *

"SAKURAAAAA!"

The blonde listened to her own wretched scream echo, mocking her, and she hung her head to hide her tears from Shikamaru, who was watching her...she was screaming straight from her heart...a blinding flash of lightening illuminated her face as if in the heat of the day. She seemed so terribly woebegone that the strategist looked away...it made him hurt to watch her do this.

"Come on, Sakura! You'd better not be _hurt_! You can't just not answer!"

She was in denial.

"You're...you're stupid, you know that? STUPID!"

Furious, her knees hit the mud and she didn't even care that the thick liquid was soaking and staining her bandages as she clutched her head, shaking it slowly as if to wake herself up from the nightmare. Tears mixed with the pelting raindrops and disguised the panic and sorrow she felt from what her best friend had done..._Where **are** you?_ _Why did you chase him like that, Sakura? He could kill you..._

Did she truly believe that Sasuke could kill her? Maybe. She was not sure...the man of constant contradiction, who would hit her, hug her, bring her down and do one little thing to bring her up when no one else expected it. Although she was strong, and she had definitely proved she was not as weak as she had been, in a dangerously heated fight, in the dark and in the rain, with him losing his temper...

"Saku_ra!_"

"Ino, come on, get up, you'll get sick like this–"

"And leave her out there? Please! That girl is so damn stubborn!"

Shikamaru gave up acting like he gave a damn and kicked a toe into the cold mud. "You're a damn pain, you know that?"

Ino glared at him with bloodshot eyes, mouth set in a straight line. "_You_ picked _me_. If I'm such a pain in your lazy ass, you go find your little traitor and hook up with her."

Knowing she had crossed the line, she cleared her throat, swallowed, and looked away from his furious gaze...in his dark lazy eyes she felt his fury toward her. Every time she mentioned it...it made blood boil within both their veins.

"Don't. Mention. Her."

"I just did...it came out...but why do you say things like that to me? If you love me so much? Like you say?"

"Because I'm not a woman...I can't sit here and spoon-feed you some romantic crap. One, I'm lazy and two, most men aren't poets."

"Well maybe they should be," was Ino's quickly made comeback, and she slammed her fist into the mud, splattering it over her tearstained face and Shikamaru as well. The latter stood looking at her, hovering awkwardly...why was it that guys seemed to draw a blank when it came to this comfort stuff? He had watched Sasuke and Naruto have the same problem when Sakura or Hinata cried...

"Shikamaru," Ino began quietly, humbled...he watched her and was startled to find her face nearly crumpling once more. "Do you think...he'll...hurt her?"

_Yes._ "Nah...Sakura's damn tough...she can handle herself..."

"This is Sasuke we're talking about, it's not like she's sparring Lee or training with her sensei who can only half-fight with her..."

"Kakashi can take her full out," Shikamaru reminded, sighing heavily as he sat, cross–legged, next to her, staring out at the rain with eyes still slightly angry. "Sasuke needs the beating. It might help them."

"Maybe."

For a moment they sat in silence next to each other in the mud...listening to the rain pour on leaves and soak the bark of surrounding trees...animals rustled here and there, newborns crying pitifully for their mothers...vicious, echoing thunder caused them to scurry and cry louder, wanting nothing more than attention.

"You know I love you, right?" Shikamaru asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Even if I don't constantly remind you? Even when I say you're troublesome."

"Yeah, I do," Ino relented, setting her head on his shoulder and squinting in the rain that fell in freezing sheets. "It's just...I've regretted so much, a lot of things I gave Asuma a hard time about when I shouldn't have...and I couldn't stand losing anyone else."

"I think that's how most of us feel," Shikamaru said quietly, eyes glistening dangerously in the painful reminiscence. "And...I don't want to lose..._you."_

Ino gasped, then closed her eyes as if his words were difficult to hear. "Do you really mean that?"

"If I didn't mean that–" Shikamaru said angrily, turning to her and holding her chin, staring at her with narrowed eyes. "Would I have done...the things I did...to keep her away from you?"

Ino's face fell apart as she lowered her head, or attempted to, but he held her gaze firmly. "No. I know it was hard. I know you liked her."

"But I _love _you, Ino. You were my teammate for the longest time, and now you mean much more to me. You are loud, brash, bitchy and you certainly dictate the rules of this relationship and that's probably why I call you troublesome. You can drink yourself to embarrassment and you can flip out on any girl that looks at me and you can beat me about the head and shoulders for not taking out the garbage...sure it hurts. It's annoying. _You're_ annoying."

Ino blinked her wide blue eyes at him...even in the rain, she was just too gorgeous.

"And I don't care if it's this way. Not because I'm too lazy to change it, but because...I sort of..._like_ it this way."

She bit her lip.

"Really?"

"Really."

There was a long silence.

**SLAP.**

"I'M NOT CONTROLLING! WE HAVE A PERFECTLY _FINE _RELATIONSHIP!"

Shaking his head and chuckling under his breath, Shikamaru nuzzled her neck gently and muttered his favorite word...and she could not get mad at his contented face.

Pinching her side, he grinned as he heard her squeal of ticklishness; she wrapped his arms around him and pulled him on top of her into the mud, laughing. After a minute of fighting, she put her head on his chest and let herself calm, listening to the patter of the rain.

"Shika-ma?"

"Yeah?"

"...Where do you think...Temari is now? Do you really think...she'd go back to them?"

He held his breath, thinking, and let it out slowly before answering. Unconsciously, Ino rubbed her neck, remembering the metal fan fiercely sawing through the flesh–

She shuddered and he held her closer, letting his head fall back to gaze up at the frightening black sky, thinking of nothing and everything.

"To her village? I don't know. They never gave a damn about her. No one ever did." His gaze softened a bit. Ino sounded a bit sad, but maybe a little proud, as she clutched his vest.

"_You_ did."

* * *

"I'LL **_KILL_** YOU!"

Hinata looked to Naruto, stricken, gently pushing her long blue locks out of the way so her wide, white eyes could stare. Naruto clenched a fist and glared at the sky, blonde obscuring his vision as he listened to his best friend roar.

"W-was that...him?"

"Yeah."

"Naruto..."

Naruto turned to look at the frightened girl, shaking and shuddering out of fear and cold...his jacket had long since been given to her...her eyes were brimming with unshed tears for the two shinobi, now lost and clashing viciously, somewhere in this desolate forest.

Maybe to the death.

"I...do you...does Sasuke...hate...Sakura?"

She knew the answer, but Naruto lived with this angry man, knew him better than perhaps only Sakura, and she wanted to know what he thought.

"No," he muttered. "He doesn't. I know he seems like it...but he doesn't."

"Then why...does he do so much to her?"

Naruto began to pace, a trait so obviously picked up from his best friend that it was almost unnerving to watch him go back and forth in the mud.

"I think...he doesn't understand...the difference between certain emotions. It's almost as if he hates her so much that...he loves her. For him, I think it's hard to tell them apart. Understandable...but...he also has a lot of things that he doesn't tell anybody. Me, some, but not all. And she always makes it a mission to pull them out like pulling teeth, one by one."

"She's devoted."

"Guess you could say that."

And Sakura's intoxicating yet sadistic laughs echoed in the storm, begging the avenger to come and get her.

* * *

For every breath she dared take–

Feet pounded ruthlessly in the wake–

_Thump._

_Thump._

Against the branches.

Just like before...the minuscule amounts of chakra to the balls of her feet to hop through the rain, branches and leaves nicking her soaked face as she traveled...in spite of the fear nagging at her she laughed and ducked a particularly low hanging limb. Barely breathing as she touched solid ground for no more than a half a second.

His low breaths were one branch behind her, although occasionally he slipped from anger, anger that effectively deterred him from trying his hardest to get her...she would giggle, he would roar and promise her downfall every time...she could almost feel his out of control heartbeat so close behind.

Sasuke lunged, roaring in frustration, for her hair–she hit the branch on two feet and pushed off, back flipping, diving for the ground; he followed, leaves and sharp ends of branches scratching his face. Her feet hit the ground and she tottered a little to her left, a hesitation that would cost her and he knew this as he hit the ground on quick feet and threw himself at her; chuckling, he slammed her body against the tree trunk and leaned against her, seething. Teeth bared, he hissed low in her ear–

"I'll kill you."

Sakura put her hands behind her, around the trunk, and slid herself down it seductively, watching him watch her at the eyes, every little move and whispered–

"I don't know whether to find that frightening...or _sexy_."

In his second of concentration lapse she slammed her foot up into his ribs and his body landed in the mud; temporarily paralyzed, he sat up and swept the brown liquid from his eyes, shaking with anger. Now she was in front of him, looking down, smirking.

He grabbed the front of her shirt and dragged her face down to his. "Play. Fair."

"It's not my fault you can't concentrate...but if you wish. I_ have_ been toying with you a little too much."

Removing his hands from her, she backed up and let him stand, facing her once again. Instantaneously they took defensive stances, waiting for the other to move...

"Here's to the respect I deserve," she whispered, eyes narrowed, pink locks plastered to her pale face in the pouring rain.

Stupidly Sasuke aimed at her; she caught his wrist, attempted to twist it but his other hand jammed a Shuriken into her side–ripping it from her flesh she threw it at him, and he blocked it swiftly with a bandaged hand. Meanwhile, his fist was coming up and at her jaw but she caught it, brought her other hand to squeeze it...he attempted to jerk away but in a millisecond she called upon her chakra and

**SNAP.**

He cried out and took back his now broken fingers, ignoring the numbing feeling...if they didn't hurt, he could still use them, so he illustrated after slamming them into the side of her face, spraying his cheek and hers with blood. Blinking crimson from her eyes Sakura jerked her head, trying to clear the dizziness and now her hand was glowing blue as she jammed the heel of her hand into his ribs, listening to another painful snap.

He disappeared before she could get him and reappeared behind her, jamming another Shuriken roughly into her back before ripping it out; it was small, luckily, and she whirled around to throw three kunai, which he dodged easily...or so he thought.

The blue strings attached to the ends brought forth three more he had not expected, and

**SLAM.**

Each one hit him in the right leg; twisting awkwardly, he stumbled and had one arm out to keep his little balance, the other forming signs faster than Sakura expected by the look on her face. Abandoning her strings, she jumped back quickly as the ball of fire tore apart the ground in front of her, continuing to be pushed back as he came closer and closer with the frightening red gleam in his eye...

With a strangled cry he backed her against a tree, grinning, and let one more flame fly; she stared it down, eyes widening as the dancing flames trapped her to the bark, catching her shirt and nearly starting a flame if the material had not been soaked...now he had her–

Her body was engulfed in flames and for a split second...he froze...she began to walk back toward him, her shape seemingly unharmed...

A grin; she swept her hand in front of her, shattering chakra she had encased herself in, and it faded.

"Nice try."

"So how much can you do with your physical chakra?" Sasuke asked as he lowered himself to the ground; she jumped as he swept his leg across the dirt, hoping to take out her ankles.

"Some things you're going to hate to see," she spat from the air, powering the heel of her hand to bring down upon his face; she screeched as he caught it, ignoring the burning sensation of the chakra eating away at the flesh, and swung her over his head and into the ground. She was flat on her back, temporarily stunned as she coughed and sputtered, desperate for the air stolen from her lungs, and he rushed at her–

Sakura put her knees up and kept the distance, flipping him over and away; he landed catlike on his feet, crouched, jerking his head irritably to clear his vision of sopping raven locks. The medic let out a strangled cry, as if she were choking, and he rushed again, eager to damage her before she got her breath back–

The bottom of her sandaled foot slammed into his nose, effectively breaking it, and she jumped to her feet as he stumbled back, frantically trying to rub the blood out of his eyes so he could see...he couldn't...but he could sense her. He jerked his body to the right, narrowly missing a blow that could have easily snapped his arm in half; he felt the chakra singe his sleeve and bandage. Vision clear Sasuke put up his arms to hopefully block hers as it came down...but he didn't expect it hurt so badly.

Chakra ate through layers of skin, blood, and nearly to the bone before he found the sense to stumble back before she had taken off his arm. She narrowed her eyes at him, letting her arm fall to her side.

"That hurt, right?" she asked in a vicious voice, biting her lip so hard it was nearly bleeding. "Good. That's sort of how my heart felt. Every damn time you say something to break it in two again–" Now she opened her hand, ends of fingers bent, sending snakes of twisting blue to bind his chest and bring him closer. "–And again!–" He was within arm's reach, and he so regretted this as she used her other hand to steady the one that held him. "AND FUCKING AGAIN!"

**I will never find this line**

**No matter how much I try.**

Raising her arm, she tossed him in the air and let him fall to the ground, crumpled and shaking. She let the chakra retreat, lowering her hand.

Slowly, he got himself to his feet, looking as though he were barely able to stand...swaying on the spot, he raised his eyes to her, the blazing Sharingan rooting her to the spot where she stood. She stared back into it, foolishly, mesmerized by the dangerous color that penetrated her mind so easily, a knife through butter. Now she shook too, limbs twisting and twitching, but she shook her head fiercely and screamed "NO!"

Sasuke stumbled back, feeling strangely drained, while Sakura looked beyond angry.

"Pathetic. Here I thought Sharingan would make it easier for you to attempt some decent genjutsu," she hissed, putting her fingertips together and glaring at him with her jade eyes. "Guess not. That was like tapping on a window." He felt slightly apprehensive as he watched the tiny muscles around her eyes tense. "How about a little more...more like a fist?"

As if paralyzed the avenger froze, every muscle rigid, as if the blood in his veins had turned to solid crimson ice; shocked as she toyed with his mind, making him see brilliant colors and horrifying swirls of nothing that his imagination took over and made a sick movie. Like a nightmare he conjured on his own.

**I can twist, I can lie,**

**I can outright defy...**

**But the love is there.**

"Stop," he muttered, motionless, eye twitching. One hand slowly went to his head and clutched it, tugging fiercely on his own hair, again, again–"STO-OP!"

"And _that's _how you fuck with someone's mind."

She relaxed and Sasuke fell to his knees, and miraculously, so did the medic. Obviously it was a tiring thing to nearly completely take over his mind...breathing heavily, she blinked tears from her eyes and struggled to relax, but everything he saw...she saw as well. That particular jutsu was a double-edged sword, the forbidden technique she had heard the basics of from Kurenai and decided to try on her own. You could torture someone relentlessly...but you saw everything you made the victim see.

"I remember you bragging about being able to complete it through eye contact. Guess that doesn't work on _me_," she taunted. "You should have known, though...you were in my group for how long? Genjutsu is like breathing to me," she added, like a slap in the face, blatantly telling him that he could not do something. To him, it was embarrassing, a thing to be ashamed of, and to be told this by a girl that could somehow toy with his emotions...

**The balance hovers,**

**Poised to tip:**

**Hate on one end,**

**Love opposite.**

Roaring in frustration he threw himself at her, ignoring the limbs that were broken and numb, wounds that stung against the freezing rain, and slammed her to the ground without ceremony...there was nothing more that he wanted than to hurt her so badly she would never speak a word from those lips again. She stared up at him, and for a moment her jade eyes were frightened, mirroring his expression...his own actions scared him too. Miles of pink hair were fanned across the mud that he wove in his fingers and yanked, holding her head fast to the ground. Red eyes stared through her, trying with everything he had to penetrate _her_ mind, make _her _feel so violated and weak...her breath caught in her throat, but after another moment she whimpered. With this, Sasuke turned his head away and cursed in pain, feeling his own head throb again as his imagination, with Sakura's guidance, made the shapes of nightmares plague him once again.

"Stop!" he yelled, closing his eyes, but she held her gaze, tears threatening to spill; while the eye contact had broken the pictures were in his head...

"_You are weak."_

"_We are unique siblings."_

"_I am the barrier you must overcome."_

"_I'm not here for you."_

"_Relationships...love...emotions...these things make you weak–"_

"_SASUKE–KUN!"_

Positively screaming, he slammed his arm across her throat and it stopped immediately, for she could not breath...but it was the last thing he wanted to hear...the voice of little Sakura calling his name...

She had not uttered that suffix for so long...he only heard it inside when unconsciously, he wished for it.

Slowly, he relaxed and let her take in air, for her face had been slowly been changing colors and he tried desperately to quiet his own screams. Sputtering, she chose a well-placed spot, broke a couple of ribs and shoved him off of her as he gritted bloody teeth in terrible pain...lying on his side in the mud and rain. Carefully she got to her feet and stood, ready to retreat back into the trees, but he wrapped his feet around hers and tripped her to the ground.

"Get off!"

"You wish," he muttered, licking his lips and tasting the coppery tang.

Cursing, she slipped and slid but eventually made it to her feet; with a glow of chakra to steady her balance she leapt into the nearest tree, picking up the rhythm again as she hopped from branch to branch–

**THUMP.**

Apparently he was recovered: Now his heavy breathing was behind her again, whistling through his nose dangerously...she could feel the paralyzing glare of the Sharingan stabbing her back...

_The longer I keep this up...the more he can track me, the more he'll know..._

He disappeared too quickly for her to change direction, and he caught and held her, suspended, over the dizzying ground below; she had run right into him. Appeared in front of her.

**If anything were to force me,**

**Make me **

**Attempt to find the difference... **

**Though I hate to admit this...**

**It could only be you.**

Sasuke took a handful of her hair and pulled her head back, exposing her now yellowed bruise on her neck. It was going away. Her breathing was out of time and fast-paced, hyperventilating out of fear and pain as he glared at it, watching in his mind where he had bitten her the first time and how she had sounded.

_Kinky bloodline trait._

She screamed and pulled on the back of his collar as he sunk his teeth into her, feeling his numb and broken fingers go limp; Sakura jerked and let her fingers drag down his back, but she was trying to hurt him...Sasuke bit her harder, for there were streaks from chakra burns down his skin and he'd never admit the pain...like having it ripped off by the layer.

**So what have you?**

**What of you?**

**I don't know what of you.**

**Have you? **

**What is this?**

**And who are you?**

**Essence of balance says my savior came. **

**In _you_?**

The avenger shoved her away and watched her tip over, jerking to catch her balance; her feet held her to the underside of the branch and he jumped to a different one, clutching his shoulder as his shirt fell apart...strips of material separated and fell away, fluttering like leaves in a gentle wind to land in the mud below.

He stared at her as she clutched her neck for a moment, but dug his own nails into the now flaming curse mark, curling tighter against the wind that shook him pathetically, like a single twig, alone in the harshness of winter.

She lunged–

Together they tumbled –kicking, scratching, cursing and biting– to the ground.

* * *

_Just do it._

_One little slit._

_She's living off a machine...it wouldn't be hard._

There was no way to justify her actions...but she could try.

The medic jumped as a large branch hit the window: The winds were raging furiously as though mother nature had a grudge against them, raindrops as large as cherry tomatoes left swirling depictions...leaves stuck to the soaked glass and occasionally branches were loosened and tossed against it. In the dimness of the lights kept low as not to disturb sleep, she fingered the scalpel, letting the light reflect from the wall, into the knife, into her eyes. The patient's heartbeat was steady and that was reason enough to turn around...she had no chance...

Human nature had caught her between a rock and a hard place. Fear of death, the selfishness of wanting a life, and moralistic defiance against slaying another person for such a gain. A gain of absolutely nothing.

_Just do–_

"Excuse me?"

The medic slipped the scalpel up her white sleeve and turned in a second to smile at Kakashi, who quietly stepped over the threshold with a tired eye. He did not smile back.

"Is Kurenai alright?" he asked in a strangely exhausted and gentle voice, blinking slowly. The medic straightened her white coat and adopted a sympathetic facade for the worried jounin, the man who would never admit it.

"Mostly," she began, forcing herself to tenderly touch the redhead's pale forearm as it lay, motionless, upon the sheets. "Just severe exhaustion. A terrible strain on the mind that reduces the body to a dormant, resting state. All she needs is recuperation, and in a couple of days she will be back on her feet."

The towering man nodded curtly and now his eyes watched her form, chest barely rising with an inhale and exhale that seemed shallow. The woman put a hand on his shoulder, then walked silently into her office and shut the door.

For a moment, Kakashi stood erect with his arms folded, still a bit softened at the scene in front of him...something just did not look right...

A large collection of colored cords met at the inside of Kurenai's elbow, each with a needle thin as a sheet of paper to slide within the layers of skin; one for nutrition, since she had not been awake to feed herself, an IV, and other assorted things that he ticked off as necessary, except for one.

A clear tube with slight carbonation caught his eye and, glancing at the door of the office, swiftly bent down and worked with the cords, careful to keep them all in place...in a moment, he separated the clear one from the others and peered at it, eyes narrowed. He shook his head.

"Can't trust anybody."

Peeling it away from the group of colored tubes, he unattached it from the machine and nearly poured it down the sink, but was struck with a sudden thought.

_Dangerously toxic._

Finding the small box with the bright orange sign, he disposed of it there, and glared at office door, where Sakura would normally reside. He would have to go through it later to keep that woman's untrustworthy fingers away. For right now, he'd keep a careful eye on her. Luckily, the poison had only been through Kurenai's blood for a couple of hours, and the medic had been unconsciously frightened of being discovered and had given too low of a dose to kill...at least if she wanted Kurenai to die within the next few weeks. Still...in her weakened state, prolonged exposure, it might have caused some permanent damage. Obviously, she was reluctant to obey her orders.

A groan came from the bed to his left; the redhead was scratching at the place where the needle went through her skin, apparently sensitive to the difference, face puzzled. Quiet as a mouse, the quick footed jounin walked to her bedside and sat. As the mattress sunk a bit, Kurenai's eyelids fluttered open and then were round as she saw the man staring back at her with a good natured grin; she had not expected it.

"K–K–Kaka–"

"Shh," he breathed, casting a wary glance at the office door and placing a gloved finger to her lips. Too weak to argue, she sighed and desisted. "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted," Kurenai replied, closing her eyes again and shrugging her shoulders as if chilled. Tentatively, he put a hand against her cheek, half-cradling her head, and shook his head at her. He opened his mouth, then closed it.

"Do you have a question?" she whispered, yawning and nuzzling slightly against his strong, gloved hand.

"I did. But you're in no condition to–"

"It's okay," she interjected weakly, attempting a smile that seemed more of a grimace.

"Where did you learn that jutsu?"

Kurenai expected the question. "A while ago I was researching forbidden types of genjutsu...I thought it might give me an idea of what Itachi was capable of. Our last encounter...well...he knew so much, and I was supposed to be the one trained in the art. Even Sakura could take me if that were the case. I came across it and read into the history of it...it was pretty harsh. I have the book somewhere."

She paused, swallowed and shifted her arm a bit, then continued. "Someone must have informed the Hokage of my findings...I thought I was in trouble...but instead they wanted me to try to perfect it...but it was so terribly difficult. It came in handy for interrogation...well, _would _have if I had ever gotten the chance before this. It's advanced...and it works on anybody. The healthy, the sick, the young or old, alive..."

She stopped again; Kakashi was now toying with her hair silently, listening to her speak. "...or dead."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Kurenai opened her eyes and looked up at him tiredly. "You never asked."

Kakashi sighed heavily and Kurenai looked upset...he replaced it quickly with his lazy grin and pushed a few locks of fiery hair from her cheek. Standing, he looked down at her pale self and couldn't help thinking that _she looks so vulnerable..._

_No. Kurenai isn't weak by any means. _

This thought in mind, he carefully took her hand, as though afraid it would shatter to pieces, and squeezed it gently. "Please, rest." He was telling her firmly, though his tone would suggest otherwise; he knew she did not want to stay there. She nodded, and frowned a bit, letting her fingers trail off his from the hand he seemed almost reluctant to pull away.

**CLICK.**

He was gone.

Kurenai sat bolt-upright, drenched in a sickeningly cold sweat as she clutched her head...

"_This particular jutsu is considered forbidden and immoral in nature, as it can penetrate the mind of those already passed from this world and into another; while the cells and tissues visibly die, the power of the jutsu can read connect with departed souls and view recollections of the deceased..."_

The passage came to her as clear as day.

But could she do it?

_Would _she do it?

Somewhere in this building they were holding his body, perfectly preserved and for her, easily accessible if she talked her way into it.But she would have to find it, get in, perform the jutsu and have the strength to get out and at least into bed before someone caught her...if only she could have Kakashi's cooperation...but he would never let her do it.

She did not know if _she_ had the willpower to do it.

"I have to know...the person that took you from me."

Throwing back the covers, she slid pale, shaking feet into red slippers and grabbed her equally red robe from the bedpost.

"Asuma," she whispered in the dim light of the setting sun, clasping her hands together in prayer. "Forgive me for what I am about to do."

Clutching the robe to herself, she shuffled quietly across the tile and, with a last glance at the office door, darted into the hallway, and quietly shut the door with a resounding, final

**CLICK.**

* * *

**I thought you were the angel,**

**Yet you sit here causing pain.**

**Attempting still to save me from **

**This animal within.**

At the very tops of the trees where the branches swayed so ominously were the clashing shinobi; they painted the sky with dazzling colors against the dismally gray sky, and somewhere far away the moon hovered above. A goddess above the violence.

The others could see them at their dizzying place, on the very same tree,pushing each other so dangerously back and forth. High above the soaked foliage they screamed, they punched and shoved and bit and scratched, pulled weapons that missed and some that were embedded in flesh to stay. His roars of frustration, her curses and screeches of fury and defiance.

"They're still fighting!" Ino screamed, gripping Shikamaru's arm painfully, but he did not pay attention...he would never have imagined this...not in any time...

Neither could Naruto: Hinata clung to him, shaking and sobbing and sinking to her knees. "N-NARUTO! PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP!" She knew very well there was nothing he could have done, but all the same she cried and cried, while Lee watched them stonily, a statue frozen by rain and by rejection.

Sakura threw her head back as his kunai sunk into her soft stomach, deeper, until she punched him so hard his neck twisted around and he was forced to let go...she stumbled away, ripping the weapon from her organs and throwing it back. Easily deflected, she dropped to a crouch and kicked his already numb and sprained knee; it cracked again, earning her a fierce kick in the soft organs...she clutched the end of the branch and forced herself to stand. Stumbling, she dodged his punches and backhanded him, loosening teeth with a terrible ringing sound:

**SLAP.**

"Give up!" he hissed through swollen lips, letting the Sharingan guide his exhausted body into a rhythmic defense to keep out of her range. Sakura opened her mouth, but what came out was a pathetic cry of pain, and she fell to a crouch once more, clutching the branch for support–

Kunai in hand, he went for her glowing, still powerful arm of chakra, but she kicked out at him, he dodged it; she stood, swaying and he threw the weapon aside, abandoning all pretense, and tackled her off the branch.

The metal weapon clinked against the bark, drowned out by far away screams as their silhouettes disappeared from the white background of the gorgeous moon; their bodies fell like pinballs and they continued to fall together, bending over twisted, rough limbs that slowed and intensified the pain of their fall.

Sakura sent chakra throughout her body to soften her fall as they splashed in the deep mud, Sasuke shaking as he rested on top of her.

For a long moment they remained motionless in the brown liquid, bleeding and losing will as they let the rain fall on them gently.

Abruptly he shoved himself off her; they took defensive positions for what their eyes promised to be the last time.

"Sakura," he muttered, voice barely heard above the whistling winds. "Stop this."

"I will not...lose to _you_," she spat, shaking violently.

"You're so injured–"

He broke off, clutching his stomach and falling to his knees; he coughed and coughed while the medic watched with an almost apologetic expression...she flinched as he retched and spilled blood over the mud, digging nails into his bare chest.

"Wonder...how many ribs I broke," she said, trying to laugh; she was crying.

Sasuke's head snapped up. _That's it. I will make her stop. This is the last time. _

Pulling himself to his feet with extreme difficulty, he stood erect as he could in the pouring rain. His body was beyond exhaustion and almost numb, which was good...he would not be able to feel whatever he did to himself. Or what pain she dealt him.

"Just admit it...I can hold you," she choked, watching him stand silently.

"I won't."

"You're being stubborn..."

"I will _kill_ you."

"Killing people who are better than you? That sure solves things."

"SHUT UP!"

"THAT MAKES YOU JUST LIKE HIM!"

For a tense moment the avenger's face was blank, red eyes wide and shocked that she had dared say it.

"I," he began, grasping one arm with the other, aiming at the ground. "Am nothing...like that bastard."

"You think that listening to _him _is going to help you? I know what he told you...that you were weak for having emotions. Well he's wrong. You are not weak, Sasuke–"

Her eyes widened as he looked at her, eyes narrowed...the chakra he was building into his broken, numb fingers was enough for his gorgeously deadly assassination technique...Chidori.

"So you're going to make your first kill?"

"This is actually my second," he informed her, sneering. "And I don't have to do it. All you have to do is admit defeat."

"You'll regret hurting me, Sasuke."

"Let's see then."

Arm ready, he closed his eyes for a moment, listening to the intoxicating sound of chirping birds, combined with the pulsing of his teammate's glowing, vibrantly blue chakra that emanated from her hands and arms.

**The only way to save me now**

**Delve–**

**Cut me deeper now...**

**Show me my mistakes.**

And once again, in frightening unison, muscles tightened, gazes were set, and they ran again, two orbs of brilliant white and blue.

Electricity hung heavy in the air and crackled against his broken, bare, and bloody chest as he dragged his numb hand across the ground, every second a leap and a bound for it's dangerous intensity...surely the power was tearing his arm apart from the inside out, shattering muscles and tearing tendons...but he could not feel any of it, just anger so dangerously pure that his eyes were locked on hers as his feet pounded across the mud. She did not tear her jade eyes from his red ones, running also, fist brought back again to deal him the most damage she possessed within herself...

The avenger looked like a vicious animal, and in the light, he brought his arm back as well, ready for the deadly jab; the heat was unbearable, suffocating and utterly consuming as his blind fury drove his punch, as her will to prove herself drove hers–

But this time they did not clash in equality, because he was too quick.

"**AAAAUGHHH!**"

And the sound of chirping birds exploded.

Her fist was halted in it's path mere millimeters from his bloody face; the tiny sparks were still burning his face and hair as they issued from her fingers that slowly uncurled, becoming limp.

He roared and used his other arm to drag the first back before he had put it all the way through her chest, looking away as his fist traveled through her soft insides...of blood and flesh and organs...

It made a disgusting squelching sound as it popped through, soaked in crimson. He couldn't go through with it.

She fell on his broken arm, choking and gasping and spilling blood all over the ground, raising her head to scream with every breath she had left, from the very depths of her broken heart. And in this moment, he realized what a thing he had done.

Sakura crumpled in her blood and the mud, whimpering and crying, clutching at her chest with panicked fingers and tugging at her shirt in blind shock.

Sasuke was frozen, arm still out in front of him, dripping silently on her curled form.

**But Hark!**

**This angel does not sing,**

**Struck down from an evil**

**That so stirs within.**

He realized it now. Way too late.

He _was_ like him.

And he had never wanted that, in all this time.

"Sakura!"

Still choking, the girl could not answer, only attempt to quell her breathing into a rhythm.

"SAKURA!" he yelled, dropping at her side in the mud, frantically pulling at her shirt, over her shoulders and off as his eyes were swallowed by the abyss of crimson that covered her chest and stomach, glittering like his eyes...

Itachi's bloody eyes...

"GOD NO!" he screamed, raising his head to the sky; raven locks were plastered to his handsome face as he cursed everything that existed for his idiocy. No one could take his blame.

"_If you ever hope to face me...you must harden your heart. You must be like me."_

"This is exactly what YOU did!" Sasuke roared at the gray clouds above, and if he could have felt his fingers, he would have shaken his fist. For that moment, all he could do was close his eyes and remember everything...what he had to come home to that fateful day...and now here he was. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU KNEW! YOU WANTED THIS!"

"WHY THE HELL DID I HAVE TO CARE ABOUT YOU?!" he demanded of the kunoichi, whose coughs were not subsiding.

"WHY DID I HAVE TO BE–LIKE–HIM?"

He hung his head and clutched it, ripping out handfuls of hair and clawing at his own face, furious, insane–

"I didn't _ever _want to do this..."

"Oh Sasuke..."

He stopped his pitying and stared at her, amazed that she was able to speak and look him in the face...her eyes were shining with tears, glittering brightly as the blood that caught the overcast light peeking from within the clouds...yet rain still poured upon them in sheets.

"Don't talk to me," Sasuke whimpered, still holding his bloody head and rocking, back and forth, the look in his eyes so terribly unlike him...they were round and frightened and full of childish fears...it broke Sakura's heart to tiny pieces.

"Sasuke," she repeated in a voice so strained he couldn't bear to listen. "You aren't like him. And you won't ever have to be. Not if you turn it around now. There's always hope."

"HOPE?! Hope? Hope is nothing. Hope didn't help me. Hope can't bring my parents back. Hope can't change what my own flesh and blood has become," he spat, still not looking at her as he rocked in his fear.

And she saw one dismal, drop...a salty drop that had not passed his eyelids for so long. The unshed tear.

"I don't want to be like him...never...never," he repeated, over and over to himself, seeing the worst memories over and over as well. He clutched his shoulder. "This...and the revenge that is in me...it can't ever go away. I am destined to be like him," he cried, so wrapped up in himself that he did not notice the pink-haired girl sit up, with difficulty, and cry with him.

"No, Sasuke...you are not. You have that choice. You went the wrong way the first time. You have another chance. You are _not_ like him...and you never will be."

She cradled his head motherly and put her chin on top of his head, bleeding all over him and raining tears upon him as he shuddered against her, clutching at her undershirt. Lost inside, struggling to make peace with the tortured little boy that wandered within his mind, always searching for a way out.

"I don't _want _to be him," he whimpered, speaking into her comforting breast and looking up at her with resolutely black eyes. A child's fearful eyes.

"You're not, Sasuke," she repeated, slumping forward on him, face contorted in pain.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, wishing little words meant more than how they sounded.

"It's okay. You'll be okay. We'll be okay," she assured in a whisper also, running her fingers through his sopping hair and burying her face in it.

"I won't be like...him."

He spoke the last word with the contempt of a spiteful, embittered young man, and the child-like detest of a boy who had never understood why he was subjected to a lifetime of pain.

One last time he gazed up at her, gaze flickering between his angry, defensive facade and the lost, tunneled, confused eyes of a seven year old whom hated the constant, painful denial of the comfort of revenge. The fitful stirring of unfinished business.

He remembered being cradled in his mother's arms.

And then, he remembered cradling his mother in his arms.

"Sakura..."

"Oh Sasuke–kun," she breathed, slumping a little more before losing consciousness and falling on her side, still holding him. She had not uttered that suffix in years. It comforted him enough for his guard to be let down, for the child to be forced back within, and he rested his head against her breast, glaring at the world in defiance before letting his eyes close. Growling only once in an assertion of his protective, fierce nature.

**Hark! The angel will resume her song.**

**Clouds clear for heaven's orchestra–**

**For it shines even upon**

**Ones who can redefine themselves.**

**Hark! Hear them sing...**

Rested in each other's arms once again, the rain beating upon the broken as the gentle melody of birds hummed graciously in their name. Unison.

Bleeding upon the ground in the name of pride.

* * *

--THE END--

OMG I'M KIDDING! Seriously. Kidding.

Had a lot of fun making Sasuke break down...poor thing. Boldened words are just some poetry to lighten it up. Or maybe not lighten it up. The author likes feedback, so if you've been sitting there reading and not participating I'd like you to speak up and say something. Anything. Since you're so obviously there.


	21. Vulnerably Yours

Sorry, it's long again. Too bad. :P

First of all, I'd like to thank people who reviewed, 'cause, well, you're just that amazing.

Secondly, I'd like to congratulate the Bears, 'cause this Chi-Town girl is a diehard fan! blows kisses. DAMN STRAIGHT THEY WON!

Excuse mistakes, only human.

And thirdly, it's AnswerQuestionsFromReviewsTime!:

-------

Basically, over the years, Sakura has perfected her chakra control and is able to use said chakra to use defensively and offensively, it can become visible and physical. Whee! Wish I could do that. .

There IS a sequel, sillies! Preview is on my profile. This part, honestly, will probably come out to about 25-27 ish chapters, but I'll have a better estimate when I get closer to the end.

No no no no no, we're not done yet. You think I'm done torturing these poor shinobi? Not even close. Read and learn.

* * *

**Chapter 21: Vulnerably Yours**

Pictures.

She had _so_ many.

It had not been long since she had last dusted them off, right before they had left for this "contest".

The sitting room, the stairway, each room had at least one of some long ago team picture as Genin, some of this past summer, some with close friends like Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba and Hinata.

Kakashi stooped to pick one up off the stairs, dusted it off, and frowned at the shattered glass that obscured the faces; tucking it under his arm, he carried it with him as he continued on.

His room had been untouched for longer than the others; the mission he had been sent on two weeks prior to Team 7's leave of absence was exhausting but detrimentally necessary. It seemed almost like a teenager's, what with his books stacked high against the walls in towering piles, the closet half shut, shoes and other assorted items strewn across the floor. He had been forced to leave in a hurry without dinner.

Continuing down the hallway, he stepped into Naruto's room, which paralleled his, only a bit worse, and with a lack of so many books...those were out of sight and under the bed. Then he poked his head into Sakura's room, grinning reminiscently at the unnaturally organized shelves, novels kept straight by bookends and pictures arranged in a somewhat abstract fashion of assorted chronologies. The frame on her night stand illustrateda somewhat forced picture of Sasuke and her at this past Halloween.

And finally, Sasuke's room: Also neat, but not to match Sakura's, and it was decorated with a bit less personality. In fact, Kakashi knew from prior snooping that the only place that his male students kept anything interesting or incriminating was under the bed.

He'd already been through everything under there. Who would have thought, under all that anger...

Chuckling, he shut the door carefully, and went back down the stairs.

The normally loud house that had earned many a security call on it was desolately silent.

Standing alone, in the dark and dismal sitting room, he sighed the heavy sigh of a man who was becoming older, and he would rather throw himself off the highest precipice than admit this. He was damn lucky, and he repeated this to himself...people were dropping like flies, students of friends and relatives of students and any person in between. Even children. A dangerous and frightening thing, to know such an enemy that never paused in the brutal murder of youth or innocence. To not even care.

And then... there was Kurenai.

When you thought of her name, you immediately thought of Asuma. They had not been dating (as far as most could tell) and they had never put the relationship up on a sign for all to see, but it was so obviously there. Even Kakashi, whom had suffered so much and was not terribly keen on optimism but more on realism, never imagined in any time that something would not go well for her. That his colleague, her best friend, could be ripped from her. In heart-wrenching irony; the night that they had finally felt comfortable enough to admit...

The thought of her in such emotional pain made Kakashi burn with anger, anger toward more things he could not control and could not help with. He would do anything to help her, but what could he possibly do?

Ripped from this muse, he opened his eyes his eyes to see Gai, having just popped in with an all too familiar serious look.

"What's wrong now?"

Gai didn't speak, but glanced angrily at a nearby picture of Sasuke and Sakura. Kakashi did not question, but left with him–

They reappeared in front of the compound; the ground sunk as they walked toward Iruka, Ibiki, and Anko, for it was saturated from the constant rain. Anko looked at him for the first time since that day he had carried Kurenai's body out of the hospital room, the same day Anko, along with the team of Chuunin, had discovered the Third Hokage's body.

They did not know who had killed him.

"What?" Kakashi asked impatiently, eye surveying the people around him in a semi-circle, all of whom seemed extremely serious.

After a long moment, Anko stepped forward after a nod from Ibiki and blinked a couple of times, contemplating her words carefully. Then, she did something that no one had ever seen her do; take a lock of her purple hair and wrap it around her finger in agitation, the nervousness that she was never allowed to show. Tunneled eyes stared back at a black one that demanded an explanation.

The fateful legend come true.

The sun was setting, and Anko raised her to gaze far into the sky, where a ring of squawking black birds circled the compound; the gray-haired jounin followed her gaze. Each noise they issued was a little more painful for him to take.

Iruka stiffened, remembering his student's words..._The birds circle because there's always **bloodshed**. _

They had all reviewed the cameras...they knew from which two it had come. And Kakashi knew too.

"I'm...really sorry," she whispered, glaring at the ground.

"They're not dead," Kakashi said genially, staring at the birds too, circling ominously. "They're both too stubborn to die."

"But maybe if we hadn't...I–"

"Every jounin gave their consent to let the young shinobi partake in this. There is no blame, and if there must be, it would be mine, for I gave the final okay."

The others were silent.

"But this has gone on long enough, for certain. Do whatever it takes; I request permission to pull my students out," he continued, raising his head to the highest power, Ibiki, who stepped forward and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"We're taking them_ all_ out, whether they like it or not."

"Right."

"But we have to break this genjutsu first," Gai interjected, stepping forward, taking the floor. "We've been trying to break it, dispel it, anything, but it's much too powerful for any of us to lift. Which means...it was cast by someone who has much more experience than a jounin."

Kakashi fell silent for a moment...he knew who might be able to help. He wished that bright little girl, the one he felt like a father to, Sakura, were there; she would at least know what it was, even if not able to break it, and they were probably unaware that they were _trapped_ inside the compound. Anko cleared her throat and spoke to him, reading his mind.

"Would Kurenai be able to help?"

Kakashi nodded firmly, placing his fingertips together and leaving in signature fashion.

He reappeared in the infirmary, where the assistant medic came out of her office, presumably hearing him arrive, and looked from him to the empty bed that he was staring at, the bed that Kurenai was supposed to be resting in.

"Where is she?" they demanded in unison.

* * *

Kurenai pushed open the heavy door and shivered as the cold air permeated her weak bones. Still shuffling in her slippers, she pressed her back against the freezer door; it clicked shut and sounded strangely final, and she stared around at the shining metal room. Drawers covered the walls, labeled by name and by rank and date of official death. 

The air had nothing to do with the chill that permanently settled in her heart.

"Forgive me."

* * *

Birds... 

Circling overhead, ebony silhouettes against the vibrant hues of a setting sun, of a nature oriented depiction of beauty and peace. Telling him the rain was gone and so was the anger.

Eyes half-lidded and exhausted, onyx slits peered at the sky above, now so clear he had almost forgotten what such a thing looked like...the tiny chirps of unknown birds and the scurrying paws of tiny animals echoed on the ground where his head laid. Those sounds of innocence clashed terribly with the angry, frantic squawking of the crows still hovering above, screeching at the shinobi below.

Slowly the sound of human speech drifted into his mind, reminding him what it was, and he groaned as the pain came back too, it was everywhere.

Pain was always a dream-shattering thing.

_She..._

_Sakura._

He put his arm out to his side, and she was not there, sending his heartbeat into a frantic dance...he would_ know_ if she were here, in his arms, touching him.

"Hey, I think he's comin' to!"

Sasuke felt someone lean over him too close for comfort and breath heavily, and he opened his eyes a slit to see a large blonde, obnoxious face peering at him closely.

The raven-haired shinobi cried out in surprise and Naruto jerked back, hands up in fear of retaliation; he laughed. "Hey, idiot, you're awake!"

"Really?" he muttered throatily, rolling his eyes at his friend. Naruto laughed loudly again and, before Shikamaru or Hinata could say a word, playfully punched Sasuke in the ribs, which was not wise considering nearly half of them were broken. Sasuke groaned loudly and punched Naruto back, leaving a welt that would bruise immediately, and closed his eyes. "And_ I'm_ the idiot?"

As pain flooded into his shattered knuckles, he rolled on his side, clutching them to his chest.

_God, sometimes I am._

"Anyway," Naruto said, wincing as he sat up straight. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel great. I can barely move, the sun is blinding, and I just suffered a heart attack because you don't know the meaning of 'personal space'."

"Well your mouth obviously works," Naruto retorted, putting an arm behind Sasuke to help him sit up; he reluctantly accepted the help.

"You'll be fine, but man, did you take a beating," Shikamaru said, shaking his head and absentmindedly picking at his nails. He looked to Ino, who nodded in agreement and began to list off his injuries...Sasuke was staring straight ahead, lost in deep thought.

"_I didn't** ever **want to do this..."_

"Several broken ribs, deep scratches, severe burns–"

_You're not like him. You never will be._

"Near–fatal blood loss and a concussion–"

_You have the chance to turn it around. You made a wrong turn. You have another chance._

"–And your knee is just...it's going to take a lot of therapy for that," Ino finished, completely oblivious to the fact he hadn't taken in a word. After watching him for a second, she huffed angrily. "Thanks for listening...typical male."

"_Oh Sasuke–kun..."_

"Sakura," he muttered, clutching his arm...the arm he had used to slash through her soft flesh with Chidori. He looked around, and then glared at Naruto with his piercing, intense gaze. "Where is she?"

And the way he said it was so terribly needy.

The long silence that followed angered him considerably, as they exchanged darkly significant glances among them, not answering his question...Hinata began to twist her fingers around each other in agitation and Ino bit her lip, as if she would cry. For the first time, he wanted, he _needed_ to see her, make _sure_ she was there, hold her in the arms that had hurt her so badly and show her he was not the person he hated the most.

"Where. Is. She?" he repeated, low and dangerous, the last word coming out a horrifying hiss that sent a flinch through the group.

Hinata gasped as Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the front of his jacket and got in his face, noses touching as he held his friend, shaking so violently from fatigue and unimaginable anger. Naruto's gaze softened in spite of his fear, and he still did not answer.

"TELLMEWHERESHEISORSOHELPMEIWILL–IWILL–JUST–TELL– ME!" He roared, shaking his victim back and forth ruthlessly, ignoring the throbbing elbow, breathing heavily and red in the face. Because if there was something wrong...if she was...

Gone...?

Then it was all because of him.

A burning pain erupted in his chest..._I don't want to lose someone else..._

"TELL–ME!" he screamed, lowering his head, ashamed of the angry tears that threatened to spill from his mistake. Seeing this, Naruto swallowed and put his hands around his best friend's wrists, and took a deep breath–

* * *

His name in fancy, italicized lettering was branded in her mind, the label on the drawer. 

Wrapping shaking fingers around the metal handle, she closed her eyes and slowly pulled; the metal wheels glided smoothly on it's track, rolling the drawer out completely to reveal it's grisly contents. What was she going to see when she had to open her eyes?

_Do it...get it over with. Besides, it won't be so bad._

Stomach churning, she opened her eyes slowly, seeing nothing but a white sheet covering his handsome face. Without hesitation, she grasped it and tore it off, frightened to the point where closing her eyes would do nothing...

Like a ghost it fluttered to the floor to rest on disinfected, sea-green tile, the almost inconceivably silent brush of material on a solid surface like a gong on her ear. As if it had been a pin in the silence.

If his skin had not been so frighteningly pale, if his eyelids and fingers had not been startling shades of purple and blue, she could have pretended he was only sleeping. But there he was, cleaned of the blood and scratches, lying there like a cadaver on the cold metal sliding gurney, still as handsome and genuine as he always had been. Kurenai's fingers were so numb from exhaustion and the icy chill of the room that his skin was nothing but glass to them.

"Asuma..."

Her voice was airless; emotionless. Just like him, a body amongst many with no life left.

"_HE'S DEAD, KURENAI! DEAD!"_

She had ignored the screams, as if she truly could make them go away.

"_We're not exactly sure of the man responsible..."_

"_Kurenai?"_

_Bloodshot eyes had opened to see Shikamaru and Ino standing side by side, both looking terrible distressed; Ino's eyes were as red as Kurenai's. With shaking fingers, Shikamaru removed his hand from his pocket to reveal a clenched fist, something obviously inside. As the jounin's breath caught in her throat, his fingers uncovered the little velvet black box, and it didn't take more than a second to realize what it had all meant. _

"_He'd...want you to have it..." _

_With those monotone words, Shikamaru pressed the box into her hand, and let her white, shaking fingers close around it._

Responsibility had fallen on the students' shoulders...she regretted them having to do it. Something she had wanted for so long, yearned for with an aching heart, came when she least expected it. The worst time, if that was possible.

Fingers shook in fear; placing the edge of her long, sharp nail on his forehead, she pressed...deeper...until she felt the satisfying puncture through the skin. But then she realized...they had taken his blood out. Of course.

"Now I have to _find it_?" she asked herself hysterically, eyes frantically scanning locked cupboards and shelves, searching by the dates...there would have to be a sample somewhere, for investigation...

Finding the right door, she tapped the metal keyhole with her index finger and absentmindedly tugged on the handle, not really expecting it to open like it did, but she let it go and found herself staring at stacked jars.

_Why **wasn't **it locked? _She asked herself, full of a terrible sense of foreboding, but her hand disobeyed and automatically clenched a jar with a name she knew all too well. Her body was so determined, yet her mind was reluctant to follow through. A terrible scent washed over her as if stepping through a fog, released by the opening of the lid, the action that her hand had not asked to do. It was following no order except it's own, while her mind told her to stop.

Carrying it back to the body in plain sight, a pale finger swirled in red paint, like a little girl in school...as if it weren't really what it was. After pressing it against his forehead, she left a print in his liquid on her own; the smell lingered as a reminder.

Breath held, she performed each hand sign with the same deliberate precision...it was a disastrous thing to get wrong, and the syllables hummed in her throat, dry from fear. _What if I can't get it right again? What if I pass out? What if..._

Actions leading the way, her hands made a circle, to seal the deal. Blinding light shone from her hands. In one blink, her eyes were the same soft brown as Asuma's.

But her mouth was frozen in surprise...there was nothing to speak of, and nothing to view, and nothing to say. Caught, and she realized the truth.

* * *

"She's still unconscious!" Ino burst out, eyes nearly brimming with tears; Hinata uttered a soft whimper, but the men remained expressionless. 

"_Still_?" Sasuke muttered, putting out an arm to catch himself; he cried out in pain, for it was too injured to support him, and Naruto held him upright. "What do you mean–"

"It's been three days," Naruto told him in a low voice.

"Three days," the avenger repeated, like a broken record, eyes dulled, yet full of anger. It seemed everything eventually would end up chipping away at the heart. Gaze sliding in and out of focus, he said the words again, clutching his throbbing arm.

_Three days._

"There's a possibility of...a coma," Ino added cautiously, clearly afraid of his reaction, and sure enough, he raised his eyes to glare at her. He was not angry at her...only at himself. Like a broken record, her words echoed in his mind along with Naruto, who occasionally asked him if he was okay, but he could not answer. He could not speak.

_Coma..._

"Where...is she?" he muttered, staring blankly at the ground; Naruto peered at him anxiously, but answered his question.

"In Ino's tent."

How he knew which one was Ino's, he really didn't, but he stared at it, as though he possessed the power to set fire to it with just a glare. The others listened to him breath shallowly, gaze so intensely fixated on the tent, and you could practically hear his mind working furiously.

"See..."

"What?" Naruto asked, leaning closer to Sasuke to hear, but he did not respond. Instead he tugged his arm from Naruto's grasp and, holding his arm close to his body, tried to stand; his knee collapsed immediately and Naruto caught him, but he shoved him away, resisting help until he could stand on his own. Shaking, he straightened as much as he could without shifting his healing ribs and began to limp, slowly and desperately, to where Sakura was. Naruto said his name but he was ignored, again and again, until his exhausted body gave out and he fell again, on shaking hands and sprained knees.

The blonde reached toward him, wishing to help. "Sasuke, she's not awake, it won't do you–"

"DON'T _TOUCH_ ME!" he burst out, slamming his fist into the ground; his fingers were throbbing, knuckles purple and bloody, but he did it again and again, as if it would somehow change what was going on. Seeming strangely ashamed, he stared at the ground again, seeing things that were only memories, replaying in his mind...

_Her blood was just...everywhere..._

_My fist came right back through...she could have ended up in half...her blood...was on my hands._

_I am responsible._

"Help me," Naruto ordered, and Shikamaru took Sasuke's other side; as carefully as they could, they each lifted him and carried him across the dirt. He hung lifeless in between, still staring into nothing, letting his feet drag and create lines in the dust.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Naruto asked, stooping as they ducked into the tent; the avenger did not reply. The expression on his face was of a sadness that was not normal for him...and it seemed so defeated. But the only thing that would make him look up was the sight of her, whether conscious or not.

Her head was not bandaged but resting on a pillow, tilted to the side. Scratched arms were over the blanket someone had been kind enough to cover her with, but it was not enough; she was shivering uncontrollably in her long sleep, lips moving occasionally as if whispering or blowing out a candle, but there was no sound. One hand clutched at the other convulsively while her heavily bandaged chest rose up and down shallowly, each inhale and exhale a chore that shouldn't have been so difficult. The blood had been cleaned, but her skin was frighteningly white, as though she had no crimson liquid running through her veins. Bruises popped from soft, ivory skin that seemed so terribly frail, like all you had to do was brush her skin and you would hurt her, leave a mark.

Abandoning the little cooperation he had been giving, Sasuke froze: Naruto and Shikamaru buckled before gently letting his slide to the sleeping bag, silent. Immediately, he began to crawl, and it hurt to watch. Like a wounded animal with no one to help, he awkwardly dragged his limbs, as though made of lead, until he sat there watching her breathe with his hands in his lap, as though he had never quite seen her before.

He hadn't...not like this.

Naruto was considerably worried, for it was unlike him to act this way. You could tell the difference in the silence.

"I'm really sorry," he said quietly, but Sasuke completely ignored him, now staring at his hands as though he had never seen them before either. He barely felt the hand of comfort on his shoulder, and he didn't hear them leave, or maybe he just didn't want to.

Obsessive personality kicked into overdrive as he watched her clutch at her hand convulsively, digging nails into already marked skin, and every time she took a so-called breath, it moved that one lock of hair. It was driving him crazy, but when he raised his hand to correct these things, he just left it hovering in the air.

He could not touch her. He did not deserve to. His hand retreated to his side.

Sasuke did this quite a few times before holding his hands in front of him and gazing at them in shock and disgusted wonder. It was so hard to believe.

Something caught his eye: One single, solitary tear that escaped from beneath her eyelid and began to travel slowly down her pale, bruised cheek...he reached his hand out–

He cried out and pulled it back, glaring at it as though it had done him a great personal wrong. What had flashed through his mind...he remembered slamming curled knuckles into the side of her fragile face. Why?

_Because I didn't think._

"She wanted to prove me wrong," he muttered to himself.

_She always said...she would do anything for my respect. _

"But why would you do _this_?" His question was nothing more than a pathetic whisper to nobody.

_I made mistakes before...and now I've made another. _

"I..."

_You wondered why you were alone! _His conscious snapped, and it was slowly sinking in. _Now do you know why? Because when people try to get close...you do this._

"But you...she hit me first," he whined, attempting to create some justification, a defense for himself. But there was none.

Sasuke watched her chest rise slowly up and down; if he had not been silent, he would not have been able to hear her breathe. She whimpered in her sleep, and he clapped his hands over his ears as though she had shrieked: That's what his mind was hearing, over and over again, everything she'd said, every time he'd punched or kicked or bit or stabbed her. He heard every single scream.

_But I'm not** supposed** to need anybody. Or any**thing**._

_You can lie to yourself all you want. But she deserves an apology. And recognition. Stubborn jackass._

Sometimes he truly wondered how many different sides of himself he had.

_Im strong..._

He would not hesitate.

After staring at her for another long moment, he grasped the ends of the shirt someone had put him in (considering his other was gone) and, as carefully as he could manage, slowly pulled it off; even the material brushing against his skin sent waves of shuddering pain. Scars and scabs caught and dragged, making him wince but not cry out, and for the first time he noticed his bandages had been removed and not put back on. It sort of bothered him...he felt very vulnerable, but not nearly as much as he did when he held the black shirt in his pale but bruised hands, those very hands that had done so much damage. Looking down at his chest, he stared at Sakura in amazement, trying in his mind to connect her with the injuries she had left him with. So terribly unreal...skin pale from exhaustion decorated with hues of purple, red and blue that followed no patterns and even small raised lumps from broken ribs, barely healing.

Sasuke stared at the shirt in his hands again, and then to her, just lying there as if sleeping, but he knew better. Crying in the desperate limbo between unconscious and not, perhaps reliving the same horror he was. Remembering every hit they had exchanged, every word they had said.

What had he been thinking? _I will kill you. _

"Do you really think she could slip into a coma?"

Naruto's words from outside the tent distracted him for a moment, and he drank in every word as though it were the very thing keeping him alive.

"I don't know...I mean, she knows way more about this than I do, or ever will," Ino said softly, clearly stung and regretful that she was not more experienced enough to help her friend. "But from what I know, it's definitely possible...if only you hadn't let her–"

"She would have hurt me," Naruto interjected, but his voice did not sound as though he were attempting to direct blame. On the contrary, he seemed angry at himself. "I should've done whatever it took."

"Me too," Ino replied.

Sasuke's mind was racing: What were they talking about?

"But she wouldn't leave him like that...I knew it from the look on her face when she saw him in that condition..." Naruto trailed off, leaving the end of the sentence hanging. "He probably would've died or come real close to it if she hadn't done something," he added, and with a jolt Sasuke realized they must have been talking about him, and it didn't take much intelligence to figure out what had happened during the past three days.

She had presumably awoken to find him hovering between life and death and, being the utterly selfless girl she was, helped him before she'd considered conserving energy or resting to stabilize her own condition. There was no way in all hell that she would leave him like that, or that she even possessed the strength to keep her body going, but she had done it anyway.

If he was able to touch her without remembering some painful memory, he would have taken her by the neck and strangled her for her idiocy. He could not handle even speaking her name, because a string of curses would have come with it. Sakura did not deserve this. She never deserved all the terrible things life seemed to throw at her. And on top of it, him, a screwed up young man who had never done anything for her and always made her push herself until it was just too much.

He held his breath: He was breathing _her_ air, her strength, the essence of herself that she had given him to live on. If anything could make him feel selfish, it was that thought.

Shaking from fatigue, he leaned over her the best he could, listening to the vertebrae pop in his back like a sick little rhythm and draped the ebony shirt over her, closing his eyes. As the warm, thick material covered her, maybe he imagined it, but the shaking sobs that were gurgling in her throat as she dreamt in her sleep quieted a bit.

He gazed at her intensely again, expression hardening as he pulled himself together, shoving the memories back inside ruthlessly and effectively stemming the dangerous flow of emotion. Seeing her body so lifeless, broken, almost hurt...and she looked so terribly vulnerable, wrapped in comforters and as white as a corpse, small round face holding an expression of constant toil. Her weak, shuddering breaths made his stomach churnquelling the nagging ache of hunger that earlier had been plaguing him. Eyes narrowed and glittering, drawn to the majestic Uchiha symbol that was carefully sewn in the material.

Shaking his head, he turned from her and sat, leaning back on his arms and watching her out of the corner of his eye. Once again he stared over his shoulder at his hands, but there were no answers hidden in the scars or the lines of his palms, in the calloused flesh he called his own.

Letting his arms slide back he landed roughly on his back, staring up at the peaked ceiling of the tent and still shaking his head slightly as his dark eyes shut, eager for rest...falling asleep to the sound of her shallow breathing, and timing it with his own, as if unconsciously guiding her as she healed.

Opening his eye a slit before falling completely asleep, he looked her up and down, (or in his case, side to side). She was strong, and she would have to be to live through this.

And her beautiful body seemed to glow against the darkness he saw when his eyes closed.

* * *

"Shit!" 

The shinobi swore loudly as he hopped around holding his foot; seething, he kicked the kunai knife across the dusty wooden floor and earned nothing but more pain. Glaring at it, magenta makeup accenting his narrowed eyes, he stepped a bit more carefully around the room, looking for any clues that could direct him to the answers he sought.

A picture frame was upside–down and shattered on the floor, and shards of glass stared up at him, accusing with their intimidating points. He had never done this before but if she was really gone, it would not matter because she was not returning anytime soon. Sand slapped against the window in a constant storm and he bent here and there to pick up papers of no importance. For such a mess, he had hoped she had left something behind.

"Kankuro?"

Startled, he stepped on another conveniently placed weapon and howled in anger, clutching his bare foot and fixing the visitor with a menacing gaze. "What? Don't do that, Gaara." Realizing that it was unwise to provoke the demon's temper, he huffed and changed his tone. "I'm just looking."

"She never came back? Was she not successful in her attempt to find Shikamaru?"

"She didn't go to get Shikamaru, she went to kill the blonde girl," Kankuro corrected, taking a vase from a nearby table and tipping it upside down, hoping something would fall out. "Besides, she would never disown ties with the Sand Village," he added.

Gaara shook his head, as though ashamed to be related to him. "You must be joking. Are you blind? Ever since these plans have started, she has not been around. She does not want to be involved with wars and problems anymore. If anything, she would end up fighting against us, not with us. We are not family to her."

Kankuro stared, disbelievingly, and thought about his brother's words as he scooped a furled scroll from the wooden floor and unraveled it. "But to turn her back on us?"

"No one ever did anything for her," Gaara said quietly. "And that's why I am here also. I am leaving too."

"What?" Kankuro let the scroll spring into it's cylinder and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Baki tell you to stay?"

"I've disobeyed him before, and I will again. We're just underfoot here, Kankuro. Surely you understand that. It's all about one person, one village, and one battle that our world is waiting for. Their plans are going well, from what I have heard. If you were smart, you would leave too. Anywhere is better than here."

"But I can't let Temari wander around while all this is going on!" Kankuro snapped, unfurling the scroll and reading it. There was a silence in which Gaara shrugged as if to say 'Suit yourself', and turned, nearly crossing the threshold before Kankuro growled in anger.

"She _is_ gone!"

"I told you," Gaara muttered, looking at his brother over his shoulder.

"To some little tropical hovel down south!"

"Not a bad place to be."

"And you don't care?" Kankuro demanded of the redhead, who had his hand on the doorframe and was still staring at him with an indifferent air.

"Not really. She's better off."

"KANKURO!"

Gaara stepped back to let their former sensei step into the room and fix an angry, livid gaze on Kankuro, who nimbly slid the scroll into his back pocket.

"Where's Temari?"

"I–I have no idea," he stammered, willing himself not to break...he wasn't the liar out of the group. Luckily, Gaara took pity on him and stepped in.

"We have not found any trace of her whereabouts, Baki," he said firmly, standing nearly eye to eye with the man he had used to call his teacher. "But we'll continue looking."

Baki glared at Kankuro one last time, and then stormed out.

Kankuro breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"For what? I'm not helping you...I'm leaving also. There's no reason for me to be involved in the affairs of the rest of the world anymore. And again, if you possessed some intelligence, you would steal away too."

"Why?"

"Because once they realize I'm gone too, you're the first person they're going to interrogate. And if you let them know anything, I'll pay you a personal visit when you least expect it. Leave. Get out and don't look back, and if you must, to ease your conscious, find Temari. But she's done with the world too. Once the Akatsuki puts their plans into full operation, all the little people won't matter anymore. Because the world will fall soon, and you don't want to be caught in it."

With that last cryptic pronouncement, Gaara hitched his bag a bit higher on his pale shoulder and disappeared, leaving nothing but little swirls of light brown sand sprinkled on the floor in circles.

"God damn, why can't he just talk normally? 'The world is going to fall soon', what the hell does that mean?"

Rereading the letter carefully again, Kankuro shoved it into the depths of his pocket and repeated the name of the little village he would have to find.

But he had to wait until nightfall to leave.

* * *

"Sir, you can't just barge into–" 

"DO NOT TELL ME WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT DO."

"If you'd just–"

**BAM.**

"AAAAUGH! MY GOD, WHAT IS SHE _DOING_?"

Kakashi nearly let the heavy door close on the petite nurse, who was shrieking incessantly, rising to a din and it took a great amount of self-control on his part not to slap her. His eyes were on Kurenai, motionless and miraculously, still standing over Asuma's body with wide brown eyes and the blinding light issuing from her hands. But there were no words tumbling off her lips this time, and it intrigued him.

"WHATISSHEDOINGWHATISSHEDOING–"

"SHUT UP!" Kakashi roared, throwing his hands out as if ready to choke the hysterical nurse. "Get Tsunade!" he snapped; she flinched in response to his harsh voice, but did as he had asked, letting the door slam shut and echo in the room of metal.

He didn't dare touch Kurenai: He did not know the finer aspects of the particular jutsu, so attempting to release it was out of the question, it could hurt her. Cautiously, he waved a hand in front of her face, and hoped that any minute now the mind technique would break...or maybe when her strength gave out, she would collapse. The situation was wrong in itself, but as he brought his hand back and gripped her arms tightly, ready to catch her when it ended, she still was not speaking...

Kakashi was sure the jutsu was supposed to show everything, speech included, and shouldn't Asuma have been making noise? Even a silent kill would have signs of such a thing...

The scream that came from Kurenai's lips was her own wretched shriek, and her hands fell to her sides as he steadied her, gripping her upper arms and holding her to his chest.

Worried and furious at her as he was, his curiosity beat them both out as he spun her around and held her; her knees had already collapsed as if she did not possess muscle or bone.

"What did you scream for?" he demanded, watching her eyes fade slowly back to the piercing red ones he knew so well.

Her mouth was hanging open, and nothing came out, not even air as she held her breath, shaking uncontrollably; she retched.

Tsunade swung the door into the wall, snapping the hinges and leaving deep spiderweb cracks in the wall. "What the _hell_?"

"That wasn't him," Kurenai whispered, and Kakashi lowered her to the ground; she wrapped her arms around his calves and grinned strangely up at him. "It wasn't him!"

"Kurenai..." Kakashi glanced at Tsunade, who shook her head slightly.

"It wasn't him! Because there was nothing to see! Nothing at all! Just the darkness...just the darkness," she said quietly, seeming suddenly fatigued, and she slumped and slid to the tile, motionless.

"Get me a stretcher!" Tsunade barked at the petite nurse, who jumped again as though electrified and scurried out. The jounin's words had frozen Kakashi.

_There was nothing to see...no words to speak...because it's not his body._

* * *

**Hey there, baby...**

**The sun's shinin' through...**

**And who would have thought**

**I'd wake up next to you?**

"Should we...?"

"No, Naruto," Hinata whispered quietly, taking his forearm gently. "Let them be."

His blonde head disappeared from the flap and was quietly shut by the Hyuga's careful fingers, leaving the two shinobi to sleep in peace.

The sun was setting: It cast dancing shadows of light as it shone through the foliage that hung over the tent where they rested, so vulnerable yet so safe. And they had no idea.

The exhausted Uchiha had completely forgotten he had fallen asleep in a tent, much less next to the teammate he had nearly lost his life to. So his shock was justified when he opened his eyes a slit against the sun and heard another heartbeat, pounding with his own.

He attempted to sit up but his weak limbs did not allow it, and, opening his eyes completely, he saw a tousled pink head against his chest that brutally reminded him of everything that had occurred in the past hours. And he was surprised to feel her white arms latched around his bare chest, his black shirt draped over her shoulders; she groaned.

Hesitant, he paused, then cradled Sakura's head and tried to shift under her weight...his cry of pain and curse made the girl look up, bemused, and then raise an eyebrow.

"Ugh," he groaned, still squirming this way and that to quell the burning sensation in his torso, and she laughed softly.

"You make the most annoying noises," she whispered against his chest.

"You're not...in a coma," he said in wonder, and Sakura burst out laughing.

"Why would you think tha–Oh, OW," she whimpered, clutching her stomach and sliding off him and onto the sleeping bag, amusement interrupted by ruthless spasms of pain; he seemed wary at this sight, watching her begin to tear up as she coughed and wheezed, the humor almost certainly gone.

"Don't talk," Sasuke muttered quietly, carefully turning her onto her side as she continued to retch and writhe underneath his hold, biting her lip.

"Don't–tell–me–" Her retort was cut short as she clutched the blankets, coughing harder; Sasuke sat up in panic and cursed as a sharp pain shot through his side. With shaking arms he yanked her upright, ignoring the fact she was most likely bruised on every inch of her skin, and did the only thing his mind thought of. Holding her hair, he turned his head away as the disgusting sound of her retching grew to a din; opening an eye, he grew rigid at the shimmering crimson in random spatters upon the comforter.

Heaving, she crossed her arms across her stomach and whimpered, adding pressure to the wound, maybe hoping it would make her pass out again. Before Sasuke could stop himself, he muttered, "Stupid."

The look in her eyes sent a fierce flush into his face, but he was angry as he set his jaw and let go of her hair.

"I'm stupid?" she repeated, voice raspy and hoarse. "That's what you called me?"

"I could have killed you."

"That would have been _your_ fault, not mine. And you wouldn't have."

"Look at you!"

"Look at _you!_"

Tears were brimming in her exhausted, bloodshot eyes, and she fixed him with a glare that would have sent Naruto high-tailing back the way he had come, but it only further provoked the raven-haired boy. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth and she began to shake; Every purple bruise, every scratch, she remembered doing it as she struggled not to cry.

She raised a hand and he flinched: Her head shook slowly, pink locks barely swaying as she reached out and placed her fingers against his wounded chest...trailing them softly, feeling every raised inch of his skin, every lump that was a bruise.

Abruptly he grabbed her wrist and she gasped, but was too weak to fight with him again. He grabbed her other one and wrapped his calloused fingers around them both to incapacitate her, then used his other hand to reach beneath her shirt and touch the bandages. She gazed at him, but he stared over her head, silent.

"Sasuke...I'm okay," she murmured, trying to tug her wrists out of his strong hold, but he set his furious stare on her.

_Don't let your temper rise–_

**SLAP.**

**SLAP.**

Sakura flinched and took the first hit from him, but he was not expecting her to pull free and slap him right back; hearing bones crack, he straightened his neck and growled at her, still with her hand raised to deal more.

"STUBBORN!" they both yelled in unison, and then were spurred to greater heights as they continued to scream at each other, the words tangling with awkward syllables and separate tones. Eventually, they didn't know what they were saying anymore, just trying to outlast.

Sasuke raised a hand to hit her again, but she slapped him first, furious tears threatening to spill; his eyes were watery too, having been hit across the same cheek twice. One last time, he raised her hand and she mimicked him, waiting for his so–called quick reflexes...but when he stared down at her defensive gaze, he then looked at his hand.

He lowered it.

"We can't...do this," he said in a detached voice, cheek stinging against the air that felt of winter origin. Burning. Immediately she dropped her defensive manner and her gaze softened. "It never...gets us anywhere."

"Took you long enough," Sakura said in an exasperated tone, smiling the best she could, wincing slightly.

Sasuke nodded in reluctant agreement and hung his head, unsure of what to say next, but luckily, his mind had a handle on things.

"I'msorry."

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"IsaidIwassorry."

"I can't understand you when you mumble," Sakura huffed, feigning innocence. She'd heard.

"IsaidIwassorrydamnitandI'mnotsayingitagain!" He didn't look at her, but unconsciously rubbed his shoulder and ignored her intense stare.

"Prideful jackass," she said, arms folded. She smirked. "Sorry for what?"

Sasuke bit his lip and did not respond, and she laughed softly, tilting her head slightly at him.

"You're forgiven," she whispered, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his forehead, which burned under her tender kiss.

Sasuke cleared his throat gruffly and looked out the side of the tent, where the bending rays of near-evening sunlight shone through. No sounds were heard from outside except the gentle, swaying breeze rustling foliage and the buzzing assorted insects.

"It's nearly sunset," Sakura mused, staring at the spot of sunlight and blinking slowly; Sasuke now stared at her intensely, reading her expressions and the thoughts that were racing through her mind. She wanted it.

Holding his breath, the avenger struggled and winced, but stood, hunched a bit in posture and ignoring the pulsing pain in his right knee. Holding both of his hands out for her, he hitched a smirk on his face, although she knew how much pain he was in.

"What are you _doing_?" she sighed, shaking her head at his stubbornness.

"Why do you need to question everything?" he said, taking her wrists and tugging on them, trying to get her to cooperate. After a moment, she grabbed his wrists in turn and pulled, struggling to get to her feet. Falling on her knees, she whimpered but dug her nails into his skin and eventually stood, shaking, with her chin on his shoulder and arms around his neck.

Without a word, she turned, keeping her arm around his back, the other clutching his shirt and a comforter to her chest; both were bent slightly as they ducked through the flap.

They stood as straight as they could, letting the afternoon sunlight burn their pale faces, and stumbled and limped past the other tents, past the smoking fire, to where the trees thinned out somewhere far away to reveal the sun. Tips of pines only brushed the bottom of the rippling horizon, while the colors of violet reds and navy blues and purples streaked across the canvas called the sky.

They were too exhausted to see the occasional black silhouettes dance against the backdrop, the golden orb that was the object of Sakura's sparkling, jade eyes.

**Here we are...**

**Safe at last...**

**So we believe.**

Sasuke caught her around the waist as her shaking legs gave, but her weight was too much for his body to handle; she landed on top of him, the blanket that had been around her now fanned out over them both. Tucking it around them, she rested her head gently on his chest and turned to stare at the setting sun, every minute passing casting long shadows.

Sasuke stared at it too, squinting slightly, feeling her nudge and slide into a more comfortable position on top of him...turned sideways, she curled her arms against her chest and pressed her tender hipbone into his groin, moaning slightly. If there was any way possible to be closer, she would have found it...her heartbeat pounded against his own swollen ribs...

He wrapped his arm around her, splaying his fingers across the back of her head and pressing her face closer...

_You push everyone away..._

_You hurt everyone who is close..._

_But **you're** still here..._

"I'm right here, Sasuke," she whispered, as though she had read his mind. "I will never leave."

Before he could stop himself, something blurted out that he hadn't even thought about saying.

"Never?"

She raised her head a bit to stare at his blank face that was hiding the fact that he wanted an answer.

"Never what?" Naruto asked, staring down at them.

"NARUTO!" Ino screeched, slapping her forehead. "You ruined it!"

"Ruined what? They're just sitting here looking at the sun...OHHH," he said obnoxiously, nudging Ino in the ribs and giving Sasuke a grin. "Riiiight."

In unison, the couple on the ground groaned in exasperation, but didn't move and avoided the eyes of each other and their teammates, who crowded like curious grade school girls. They had noticed that the camp had been empty before, but really didn't have any idea where they had gone.

Well, they were back.

"You both look so exhausted," Hinata said quietly, giving them a sad look full of pity, as if wishing she were in their place, just to keep the pain away.

"You guys should sleep," Shikamaru commented, not looking at the people he was talking to; perhaps it was in respect, but all the same, he stared at the setting sun deliberately, grinding his teeth down on a tiny stick of wood. Nodding in agreement and a dire want of escaping the scene, Sasuke began to sit up but Sakura put her cold fingers on his chest, fixing him with such a sad look that he was rooted to the spot. She did not want him to leave, or move, or otherwise try to blow off the situation however trivial it may have seemed. And a very little part of him did not want to upset her, after all he had done.

There was an awkward silence in which her lip slowly began to jut out and there was a sparkle in her eye, a challenge, daring him to refuse. He didn't want to leave her, the only person that seemed to take everything he threw...punches and insults and all...and still come back for more.

"Yes," Sasuke said slowly, "We should."

And with that, he grabbed the edge of the blanket and yanked it over him and Sakura, effectively covering them, hiding their similar smirks.

Naruto opened his mouth. "Um–"

"Sleeping."

Naruto opened his mouth again, closed it, took Hinata's arm and walked off toward the fire; Ino grinned and did the same, but made sure grab Lee's elbow with her free hand and take him too.

"You're such a bastard, you know that?" Sakura muttered, dragging her nails lightly on his skin, a slow but steady warmth spreading through her as she listened to his heartbeat. Her body rose and fell with his in a steady rhythm, the lullaby that would soon put her to sleep, and she smiled as his strong arm slid up her back and eventually cradled her head once again, fingers woven delicately through her pink locks.

He smirked in the dimness. "Hn."

"You don't care," she accused playfully, voice sounding breathy and positively enticing, so Sasuke thought. To spite him, she pressed her teeth against his bare skin and felt him shudder beneath her touch; he hated when she teased him.

"If I weren't so tired..." he groaned, letting her continue to drag her fingernails and gently brush her lips on his chest. Ignoring his threat, she smiled.

"Alright...I'll let the bastard sleep," she murmured.

"Yeah, let the bastard sl–" Sasuke noticeably bit his tongue, annoyed at his idiocy, which only caused Sakura to giggle. "Stop talking."

And she didn't retort, letting the rhythm of intoxicating heartbeats lull her, and him, to sleep.

* * *

_I don't want to die._

She was alone.

_Not again...it's happening...all over again...and his blood is on my hands._

Truly alone.

_No no no no no no no..._

But words could not stop it.

_Orange and red and blue...swirling torrents of color pressed and smothered her, all around, nothing visible..._

She dug her fingernails into her chest, feeling them penetrate layers of flesh, deeper, painfully...she wanted to get out.

_Stop. Please. Stop. _

Her fingers clutched at the blankets, scrabbling frantically for a weapon, something heavy, anything...as she watched her mind split apart...half in the fire. A nightmare that she would give anything to stop, heart-wrenching memories flashing through her head, every single one like a slap in the face.

And then...

"_I can't take this anymore!" _

_The mother stopped in the doorway, framed by the light that lit up the snow around them, lengthening the shadows under her eyes. "Baby..."_

"_SHUT UP! If you can't even accept my decisions, don't refer to me as your daughter! It's not your job to protect me anymore and it's certainly not your job to constantly tell me how bad my teammate is!"_

"_But–"_

"_I KNOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM! I've known him for so long, I know he has problems, I know he has insecurities, and I **know** he can be very dangerous."_

_She stared at her mother fiercely, jade eyes flashing and full of such untoward hate. _

"_And I. Don't. Care."_

_Hitching the bag higher onto her bruised shoulder, she turned away and stood for a moment, staring up at the inky sky. _

"_I'll fix it. I'll fix everything."_

"_It's not your job, Sakura! It's not your **place**," her mother sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "Stop taking the world onto your shoulders. You have a job, you're a medic, and an amazing one at that. You have friends, and you have people that care about you. YOU DON'T **NEED** HIM!"_

_Sakura went rigid; her mother folded her arms and swallowed, struggling not to taste the salty tears. _

"_But **he** needs **me.**" _

_With that, angrily sweeping her tears away, the medic began to walk away, every step another cut deeper, every step taking her further away from life, a step closer to him. As her mother's wails echoed in the desolate night, she wrapped her arms around herself and was a fifteen year old girl, so desperately entwined in the problems of the world. She would not see her mother for three years and would live under a roof with him and her other teammates, so close, yet so far._

_Embedded deeply in his problems..._

_And she didn't want it any other way. _

"_SAKURA!"_

Screaming at the top of her lungs, perspiring fingers struggled to handle the weapon but were failing as she felt something warm and sticky in her fingers...realizing it was blood, she opened her eyes and swung blindly into to darkness her eyes had not adjusted to, screaming and crying and cursing–

The flap was wrenched back so ruthlessly there was a tearing sound and Sasuke was kneeling in the opening, eyes flashing wild and red, now wearing a shirt and seemed scared out of his wits. He was livid, ready to tear the thing apart that had dared make her scream and cry this way, but it took him a moment to realize what was going on; she continued to swing the knife and sob.

"Sakura," he said firmly, harsh voice cutting across her high-pitched fright.

"Sasuke! What's going on?" Naruto asked, voice worried, and Sasuke looked over his shoulder.

"It's alright. I'll handle it," he stated in the same firm voice, the voice that made people drop what they were doing and listen.

Crawling on his knees, he carefully dodged the swinging weapon and swiftly grabbed her wrist; Sakura dropped it and crumpled against him, screeching.

"Make it go awaaay," she whimpered, clutching him as if falling; he was rigid under her touch, because he had no idea what was upsetting her so badly or how to make her stop. First, he tried to be logical.

"Um...what's wrong?" he asked quietly, unconsciously holding her closer as she shivered against him, still whimpering.

"My mother is dead," she whispered, soaking his ebony shirt with burning tears. "I know what I saw that day, and it's true, and I don't know how, but she's gone. And I'm the most ungrateful daughter," she cried, breathing heavily. "In the water I saw it and I can't make it go away and every time I try to sleep it comes back and there's something in here and I'm–I'm–"

"Sakura, you can't just say that, there's no proof," Sasuke interjected, holding her head gently, praying for her to stop...it made him feel pathetic, her sitting her sobbing her heart out and him, enough of an idiot to the point where he had no words of comfort. "And for the record, you haven't slept yet."

"Of course I did!" she hissed, clutching him as close as humanly possible. "I woke up from a nightmare!"

"You weren't sleeping," he repeated, pushing her away to peer at her face. "You've been sitting here in the tent snuffling for about an hour, but you haven't slept. I was out by the fire with Naruto and we've been listening to you."

She stared at him for a moment, mouth open, and then turned away from him, scrambling for her weapon; he grabbed her shoulder and roughly dragged her away. "What are you doing?"

"There's someone out there!" she wailed, jerking from his touch and holding the knife steady. "If I wasn't sleeping...then it was a genjutsu...put on me while I was weak and vulnerable and _god_, I'm an idiot–"

"You're not...an idiot," Sasuke said awkwardly, "But you are being unnecessarily paranoid."

"P–p–paranoid?" she sputtered, face crumpling. "No!"

"Sakura, damn it, don't act like this!" he burst out, nearly pleading for her to stop and listen to the reason he tried to pound into her skull.

"There's someone out there...I can't rest...not now," she babbled, staring at the back wall of the tent with a detached gaze.

Sasuke groaned loudly and grabbed her around the waist, keeping her in his hold as he hissed into her ear:

"Enough. You are not weak. You are not stupid. But you are exhausted and so help me god if you keep pushing yourself like this I am going to–"

He broke off, staring in the same direction Sakura did.

"Don't speak," he whispered, still holding her protectively.

"I told you–"

"_Don't speak!_" he hissed, trying to move his lips as little as possible against her ear. "Sh."

They sat in the silence, holding their breath, waiting as the leaves rustled behind the tent, wind whistling through the foliage and tree limbs, masking the nearly silent footsteps of unwanted presences. Unknown, it was closing in, casting an unusual chill over the couple as they remained frozen, breathing shallowly, sitting ducks. It whispered.

Sakura made a strange noise in her throat, catching Sasuke's attention; he followed her gaze to find the thing that sent his heartbeat off into spiraling tangents, what froze his blood to ice. It was simply the shadow, glittering and shimmering with a thousand shades of gray and white and black, spreading steadily over the sleeping bag like a visible disease. But it was frightening because he could feel it and the power it held as it came closer, dimming the light that shimmered so far away from the fire. The wind died, as though literally sucked away through a tube, leaving an unearthly silence that set their ears ringing, yearning for a sound.

Sakura's fingers clutched the knife, knowing it was useless against...this. A force and nothing physical she could get at. Sasuke knew this too, but his mind was at a bit more ease when had a weapon in his hand, out in front of Sakura to keep whatever it was away.

_Please protect me..._

Her breath caught in her throat and Sasuke swore as quietly as possible...the shadow was spreading over her bare foot, leaving it ivory and scarred, as though a touch would shatter the skin to pieces. It was freezing and came as a shock, like the water in the shower coming on and waking you up by temperature. It set her shaking as it crept up her knee; she pulled her other leg to her chest, eyes wide–

The entire atmosphere was thick and dense and breathing was painful...every inhale brought forth the pricking of needles against soft lungs, while blinking was impossible. Both pairs of eyes were tearing in the freezing chill, limbs reduced to numb and useless weight

_What the fuck is that? _His mind demanded, pulling Sakura as close as he could; her legs were completely ivory and pale, scratched and scarred and so damn sickly looking, and now he felt it too. It pierced his back, stealing his air, and attacked him, closing in on both of them. Pressing his nose into the back of her ear, he shushed her quietly as the frightening whiteness smothered her stomach. She shook violently against him, tears running down her porcelain face of their own accord, for her eyes were open and they could not close. He knew it had to be a genjutsu, and that was bad luck for him, and maybe for Sakura too if she could not fight it off.

Her knife landed quietly on the blanket as her fingers fell limp, and Sasuke struggled in vain for another moment before his fingers went numb too. Awkwardly, he pulled back his arm and wrapped it around her, pressing his face into her neck and trying to make his lips form words...they were now bloodless and swollen. He heard her muttering to herself, mentally fighting off the effects...he would not be so lucky.

From far away he heard himself cry out as it tapped into his mind, as if there literally people inside ransacking his brain, shoving things to the floor and ripping things apart, little memories from long ago, chipping away at the ones he needed just to keep himself sane...

Now the tears forming in his eyes were not just from the cold.

"Sakura," he...whimpered? "Make it stop," he pleaded, the same words she had whined to him out of fear just moments before.

"I can't," she choked, breathing in slowly; Sasuke cowered at the sound, as if her lungs were rattling with loosened parts. "It's too powerful..."

"It makes my head hurt," he muttered, feeling them toy with his memories over and over. "So bad."

"Mine too." She found his fingers where they interlocked at her waist and intertwined them with her own, so numb and lifeless. "Don't leave me."

Sasuke squeezed them, feeling absolutely nothing, and he whispered in her ear... "I won't."

* * *

"Are you _quite _finished?" 

The shinobi gazed up at his towering master and his sadistic grin faded; the bloody eyes held no amusement.

"Sorry," he muttered, and placed his fingers together. "Release!"

Immediately the atmosphere shifted imperceptibly back to normal...the gentle breezes returned, the sounds of a forest. Slowly the strange haze faded from the tent, leaving it as it had been before, and the disturbing sounds of retching reached his ears.

"I didn't ask you to toy with them. I asked you to watch, and to wait. If you are found out or spotted, it would be a trying task to get out, and that would set them on their guard."

The man stood, letting the wind lift black locks of his face, and absentmindedly tapped the ring on his finger, bored. "Now let them be."

After he had left, the shinobi muttered among themselves mutinously, stopping only when his powerful mental beating attacked their minds ruthlessly. Eyes fixed on the tent, they waited and listened to the crying and the words.

* * *

"Gone...it's gone..." 

Sasuke's lips were numb and bleeding, and her words hit him like a slap, snapping him out of the freezing, dense atmosphere. It was slowly receding, the color coming back to limbs and faces, broken memories desperately trying to heal and come back together after being ripped apart. His head was pounding, the feeling returning to his fingers that were sweaty and shaking uncontrollably as he still held her close. Breathing heavily in her ear, his hands roamed everywhere, touching her face, grabbing her arm, squeezing her thigh, just to make sure she had not gone anywhere. She was still there.

He grunted. _Are you alright?_

She whimpered in fright, staring into nothing; she squirmed in his lap, turning until she was burying her face into his chest, eyes still wide as saucers, hands tugging on his shirt frantically.

Swallowing, he ignored his pounding head and slowly, as if unsure of what to do, he grasped her clammy hand and put his fingers through hers, holding her against him, trying to quell his own shaking and his tears of pain and anger.

"What _was_ that?" she whispered, putting her lips against their linked fingers.

Sasuke was silent as he listened to the sounds: The fire crackling, foliage rustling, and their own breathing.

"I don't know. I just..._don't know_."

"Don't leave me...I can't sleep...alone," she murmured, sounding ashamed for her fear and for her childish pleads. She felt too vulnerable...if only she knew that he felt the same.

He didn't know if it was in his mind or the words really left his lips...

_I'll **always **protect you. _

**When you're at the end...**

**And all you have is one left...**

**You cannot lose that too.**

**What keeps me sane.**

* * *

0.0 

Hm.

I feel really bad for them at the end. --sadistic laugh--. Really.


	22. Liquor Pig's Birthday Present

_So yeah, this had to be put in two chapters...plus I'm still writing the other part and...I'm afraid myself of what will happen XD_**

* * *

**

_Chapter 22: Liquor Pig's Birthday Present_

**Hearin' the wheels a rumblin' neath the floor...**

**I keep hummin' a nostalgic tune ever more...**

**World racing by**

**Just the blink of an eye**

**Next moment we are a weightless chore**

**Doing our duty.**

Little laughs of innocence...smothered by canvas.

Her eyes were full of untainted love for the little prince as she opened her eyes wide, gently taking his tiny fingers and clapping them together with the rhythm of the train. Soft melodies tickled his ears and hovered in the air around the other passengers as the transportation rolled on, the constant sound of metal on metal rails. A beautiful hymn echoed in her throat, the pitches of syllables she did not speak as not to bother others around her falling into a familiar lullaby.

The man next to her smiled at what he had; his wife and his son, radiating with joy and touching noses gently, giggling. With an expression of great interest, the baby ran his tiny fingers over his father's lips and nose and slightly haughty profile, babbling incessantly in syllables that would eventually form words.

The father laughed affectionately at his son, then exchanged a loving and slightly suggestive glance with his wife. The latter smirked, giving him a look of half warning, half amusement, and nudged his arm.

Everyone around them smiled; other similar couples smiled, some in their sleep as the train rumbled toward Kohona, the rhythm always strong.

A man got up from his seat and walked across the slightly swaying floor, grinning around amiably at the people as he tilted his hat down. The wife who continued to hum to her nearly sleeping child smiled at him as he walked past, which made him stop, take off his hat, and turn to observe her dark-haired boy.

Her husband tensed slightly.

"How old is he?" he asked in a rich baritone, an undeniably trustworthy voice; all the same, the father took his wife's hand.

"About seven months," she said, a pink dusting high in her porcelain cheeks as she plunged forward, making polite conversation as not to appear rude or uncertain. "Already looking like his father," she added, giving her husband a glance out of the corner of her eye. His grip tightened, nearly a giveaway, but his smile was warm as he could muster.

"Pleased to meet you," the stranger said, extending a hand to the father. After a moment, he grasped it firmly, spotting a gold wedding band on his finger, which made him relax a bit. The baby sighed in content, nuzzling his nose into his mother's breast, and turned his face away.

"You're very lucky," the stranger added, speaking only to the husband at this point. The mother glanced from man to man, eyebrow raised, and dug her nails into his hand to quell his anger that was obvious from the flush on his face.

Without another word the stranger turned back the way he had come and strolled down the carpeted aisle, smiling at the same people, leaving the young couple to glare at his retreating back. An older brunette with a blonde child in her arms glanced at the mother from across the aisle and mouthed, "Are you alright?"

Nodding, the mother cradled the baby's head and kept her fingers in her husband's, rigid, as the compartment fell silent, only the occasional snuffling of a child and murmurs from the cars around them. Something wasn't right. The rumbling of the wheels kept the rhythm, the world racing past, blurs of color–

An abrupt and ruthless jerk sent the occupants of the car tumbling to the floor, slammed into walls and poles and luggage racks and seats, interrupting the rhythm as a piercing whistle went off, sending some of the babies into hysterics. The din swelled with the culmination of the hum of human voices, confused and afraid, as the crying echoed in the car–

**SCREEEEEEE...**

The teeth–grinding wail of metal on metal set many on edge as the wheels seemed to lock and the engine stopped; the couple stood, letting go of each other's hands and the father yanked a long sword from the space between the seat and the wall.

"They found out!"

The jounin were now visible, emerging as if from nowhere amid the crowd of frightened citizens, some holding babies at their hips and chests, weapons out and ready.

"Don't panic," the dark–haired 'husband' stated calmly, trying desperately to keep the noise level low as thumping and screaming erupted from the corridor. "Remember the goal."

The jounin that had been masquerading as a simple mother narrowed her eyes and stared around the compartment; civilians were shaken and pale, some crowded in groups or alone, wedged into corners as parents desperately tried to quiet their frightened children. Sighing, she turned to her partner and bit her lip. "How fast are we going?"

Weapon ready, he slowly slid open the compartment door, revealing the world racing by outside, the noise of the grinding metal slicing through the air...sparks were jumping from the wheels and tracks, just too eager to start a fire.

"I'll slow it down, you get them out in an orderly fashion...don't let them panic." The woman nodded, then nodded to the other jounin, still carrying the tiny children with them.

"Be careful," she muttered, and he left his teammate with a grin and leapt onto the roof. As his footsteps sounded, people looked up and were terrified. "Alright now, I want you all to stay quiet, no backtalk, and form small groups! Keep families together, and _do not_ open the doors to other compartments, no matter what."

As her words sunk in, the civilians moved quickly and efficiently at her instructions, shuffling and excusing themselves politely as they tried to help another in spite of their fear. The sound of grating metal continued to set teeth on edge, and loud banging from other cars sent people cowering or crying. The jounin switched the baby to her other hip and clicked her tongue in nervous habit–

There was a shriek of surprise from somewhere above and the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the roof, and the kunoichi told them not to panic before they could. A strange click, a jerk, and now the train was slowing, and she smiled in relief. Thank god.

"All right!" she boomed over the baby's babble, "I want families with children out first. You jump and you roll. Don't try to land on your feet, you'll hurt yourself. We will send jounin with you to keep the peace, listen to them and do _not_ try to leave the group."

Some nodded, some muttered, and a single mother with her daughter cautiously approached the door, looking apprehensive.

"Hold her tight," the jounin said briskly, shaking her hair out of her face and grasping the mother's arm... "...GO!"

The mother let out a scream but let herself be slightly pushed out; others now crowded near the door, eager to get out as the screams around them grew louder. Steadily a flow of people jumped in twos and threes, the line speeding up as the danger came closer.

Someone let out a blood-curdling scream: Everyone whirled around to see a young girl, open-mouthed in shock, staring at the compartment door...the window was spattered with crimson, kunai knives shoved deep through, pointing with accusing tips.

"KEEP GOING!" the female jounin nearly screamed–her voice had come out a bit less harsh than she had wanted it to–and the baby was crying now, adding it's wailing to the din of people talking and muttering. Everybody was nearly out–

**SQUELCH.**

The young girl who had screamed just a moment before was now silenced–the sickeningly brilliant shot had gotten her in the heart, mid–beat. As she crumpled to the floor, enemy ninja swarmed in quickly, some clashing with Leaf Village jounin, some simply taking out anything that breathed in their way. The door was now on the floor and someone leapt off the train as it passed a rocky gorge...the jounin tightened her hold around the baby and did not look to watch the unfortunate soul fall to their death.

She jerked to the right, narrowly missing the needle that whistled past her head, and slammed a kunai into an unfamiliar chest; shoving the body aside, she gestured to the other jounin and they held onto handles of the doors, swaying with the still moving train. They hopped to the roof, most of them still carrying children, and met the disturbing sight of ninja clashing so precariously near the edge, some falling and lost in the unknown over the side. There, with her two teammates, she turned to them.

"Where is Tai?"

"We haven't seen him."

Curling her fingers into a fist, she placed it against her forehead and huffed, angry that the mission was failing, her _very _first one. They were, simply and bluntly put, newbs, no question about it, and the squad leader she had so admired was gone. He was much more than a teammate, but it wasn't the point. Jounin were supposed to handle themselves, and here she was, freezing at the prospect of leading an attack on her own. But she was second in command.

_Well fuck._

"Arriku?"

The two boys that had used to pick on her on the playground now looked down at her expectantly, both carrying children and awaiting further orders. Furious at her burning eyes, she lowered her head for a moment and swallowed. To be respected, to be expected to know what to do...

"Keep the children safe at any cost. We _are_ finishing this mission."

Her comrades nodded and took off, while she wallowed in self–pity for another moment.

_To think I was laughing with Tai, acting like a civilian just moments before. To think I wanted this. I'm too soft, too weak and just too selfish to go risking my life. _

Shoving the doubts away, she whipped out a kunai, hitched the baby higher on her hip and blew red strands of hair out of her face, lunging at a nearby enemy and now clashing with him, so terribly determined to see his blood spill.

But the enemy dropped to a crouch and swept a powerful leg underneath her, taking out her ankles and sending her flat on her back; _god damn it...not again...he told me to watch for that..._

Sunlight burned her eyelids as she looked to the sky, struggling to catch her breath, but the shadow came down on her and she could only stare up as the ninja's sandaled feet slammed into her chest...ribs snapped loudly and her body was forced through the roof of the compartment and onto the floor below. Dizzy with pain, she clutched the child and hoped to high heaven that the ninja was done with her. Maybe.

This thought was shattered as he jumped down through the gaping hole that her fall had made and stood to full height; the clearly experienced shinobi was well over a head taller than her, grinning beneath the ebony hood that hid his face. Assuming a defensive pose, she held her arm straight out, turning her hip with the baby away from him, putting as much of herself as she could in between. A strand of red hair fell over her eye, and she held her breath, waiting for him to move.

"**AUGH!**"

She caught the tiny body in a football carry at her side as the needle pricked the skin of her neck; she tried to ignore the ragged breathing that was in her ear as his arm snaked around her waist.

"How old are you?" he asked, chuckling frighteningly in her ear. "New at the game?"

_Don't show him you're afraid. _She whimpered. _Shit._

"Apparently so." His arm pressed against her stomach so tight tears came to her eyes as organs were pressed against each other, fit to burst. Eyes nearly rolling into her head, she screeched.

With a 'poof' she disappeared, free from his hold, and reappeared near the window; she tended to do that accidentally under periods of stress, and she was grateful for the lack of control now. Goodness knows it would not have happened if she had been forced to concentrate. But before she could recover from the shock she screamed wretchedly once again as a body was slammed against the window, presumably held against it from the outside as the ground raced under their feet.

It was Tai's.

Their eyes widened at the sight of each other, and Arriku slammed a sweaty and bloody hand against the window, scared for him. She should have saved some fear for herself. This time, the pursuer didn't let her get away; she watched Tai have his face slammed against the glass repeatedly, and his torture ended with a tremendous stab in the back. Dying like a slave, not the honest, fearless, jounin leader he was. The very tip of the knife poked through the wall, pinning him to it, and Arriku whispered "I'm sorry" to a half–dead corpse, unable to listen.

And then a knife was put through her, completely puncturing her flesh and tacking her to the wall like a thumbtack to a corkboard.

First mission: Failed.

The enemy ninja scooped the wailing baby from the ground and held it gently enough, standing still in the compartment, littered with debris and the bodies of civilians who had been in the way. Silent, he listened to his next instructions.

_Regroup and head for drop–off destination. If all proceeds as planned, the children will be abandoned and most likely not found. _

"Right," he muttered, shivering a bit as the emotionless voice pierced his cerebellum like his dead conscious. None of them ever got used to it.

And when top–notch jounin had been dispatched out to provide a report of the failed mission, Anko was the one to unpin Arriku and Tai from the walls, declaring both dead on their first A–ranked assignment.

* * *

"Do it."

Her order was met with equally furrowed brows and pouts. Naruto and Shikamaru held amused grins, while Ino and Hinata folded their arms, clearly on Sakura's side.

Sasuke stood still as a statue, as did Lee, facing each other with folded arms as well.

"I mean it," Sakura snapped, looking from one stubborn man to the other and gave them a glare that most would give in to. Huffing, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm and then Lee's, then thrust them toward each other, still giving them the 'you had better do it or else' look. Lee seemed to sulk while Sasuke looked as though he had come down with a severe case of lockjaw, and neither moved.

**SLAP. SLAP.**

Lee cringed from her hit while Sasuke grunted in reply, ignoring the little colorful stars that popped in front of his eyes as he struggled not to rub his head. _Damn, like she doesn't hit me enough. Now I know how Naruto feels._

"DO IT."

Slowly, both shinobi put out their hands, waiting for the other to initiate.

"Come o–on," Ino pressed.

"Come on Sasuke, you're being an idiot–" Naruto added obnoxiously, and Hinata nudged him gently to shut him up.

At the same time, they grasped each other's hands and pumped once, struggling not to speak. Although it looked as though they were trying to break each other's fingers, they didn't lunge in an attempt to rip out throats. Letting go quickly as though the other was diseased, Sasuke grunted while Lee nodded solemnly.

"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Sakura cooed, clapping her hands together and glancing at Sasuke slyly out of the corner of her eye. "Now hug."

Lee's mouth fell open and Ino, Shikamaru and Naruto burst out laughing. Sasuke stared.

"I'd rather eat my own vomit," he said disgustedly, making a face and kicking at the dirt with his sandal.

"_I_ think it would be good for you," Sakura said, while Lee turned away and folded his arms again. "We're going to work on this more often, alright?"

They both nodded at her, scowling.

"Good. Now get out of here," she laughed.

It had been two days: Wounds were healing and so were broken friendships as the hours passed without arguments or incidents. Rules had been set and now that there seemed to be no other problems, they were slowly falling into sync of this life away from home. If they had not experienced so much emotional distress, it could have been called a vacation.

The fire was kept going every second of every day, even at night, under the careful eyes of whoever was on watch. They took the night hours in shifts, never leaving a time where no one was asleep and on the alert, and it was done in twos for added safety, just in case. Wood was always gathered, the tents were moved closer, and no one was allowed to venture from camp alone. These little rules kept them closer both physically and emotionally, out of worry for each other and the fear of being separated once again.

Little personal touches appeared here and there within the things they had done at home, now done here. Sakura continued to cook for all them; frankly, she did not even consider letting most of the others _touch_ cooking utensils, except maybe Hinata. But she took requests like she had at home, washing the dishes and making sure everyone slept, and in this case, took a shower. The mother of group did these things to keep life running as smoothly as possible.

Oh, but there were differences.

They could usually go around the fire telling stories of things that had happened in the past. "Remember when?" One thing could bring forth a new surge of little conversations that had been buried and tucked away like pictures, there but forgotten in that moment. Even painful things, angry things, could be forgiven, trivial things like stolen items and hurtful words of 'he said, she said'. Those things did not seem to be so important when they stopped and took a long look of what had happened, what was still going on, and what easily could.

Every night they had a moment of silence for the ones that were gone: Asuma, Chouji, Neji, and now Tenten, the only form of respect they had left to give. A solemn way to end the night, but some of them continued to wish and pray behind the canvas folds, lying awake, staring at the peaked ceiling above.

Oh, and of course...

* * *

Last night had been Sasuke and Naruto's watch; soon they would wake Ino up from her snores and Shikamaru as well to take the shift. Ino had been sober lately. There had been a couple animals wandering around acting terribly strange, and her bag had vanished in all the chaos the past few days.

The two friends had finished a conversation that had revolved more around Sasuke than anything. Naruto wanted to know how he was handling...everything, in basic terms. Unheard were the words, 'How are you _and Sakura_ doing?'. Frankly, their relationship had never been stable from the day they had been assigned into the same group as Genin, but now there was definitely a difference that neither could place or would even admit. They didn't know what was, or maybe they didn't want to know why.

Naruto told Sasuke about things that had happened in his absence, and some of it had been difficult to stomach.

The sound of a zipper had caught their attention, and Sakura's slightly tousled head emerged from between the flaps. Eyes slightly red and irritated out of rubbing from fatigue, she tried to make her expression seem offhand, casual, but the truth was in those jade, saddened eyes.

"I think your shift is over, Sasuke–kun," she said in a small voice. The syllable was back. What she had really meant to say was "_When are you coming to bed?_" She slept in his tent now at his insistence, him giving her a short lecture on how dangerous it was out there and that her injuries and exhaustion could put her at a disadvantage should anyone attack her. Yes, he was disregarding his own injuries and lack of sleep, flatly stating that his stamina surpassed hers, and what with her cooking and cleaning, it was the_ least_ he could do. A typical excuse.

What had worried him was that in the dimness of the firelight an unshed tear hovered on her lashes, one that she tried so hard to disguise. Exhaustion and curiosity tugged at him, and he stood up, stretching and gesturing for Naruto to wake up Ino and Shikamaru. His goodnight was a grunt and Sakura's head retreated back into the tent as she moved to let him in.

Yawning, Sasuke had lain down and waited a full minute before asking, "Hn?"

"Of course I'm okay," she said quickly, a little too quickly to not be obviously defensive. Sighing, he rolled over and put the back his hand to her forehead; she had a slight fever, but she pushed his hand away and closed her eyes. "Really. I just wanted to make sure...you came to bed."

With that, she waited until he had closed his eyes before opening hers, just to stare at him. But after a moment his eyebrows furrowed and he stared at her with glittering onyx eyes.

"What?" she asked, propping herself up on her elbow.

She uttered a soft scream as his arms shot out to grab her and pull her, squirming in delight, to his chest. Too tired to struggle, her body molded itself to his, the blanket tucked around them against the cold air of the night.

"Sas–"

"Shh."

She'd fallen right asleep.

* * *

**SPLOOSH.**

Sasuke listened to the girls' conversation as they walked on top of the water in bare feet, skipping stones across the surface and speaking of nothing and everything. Ino stretched her arms over her head, yawned, and bent her tall frame to pick up a nearby stone that was settled in a patch of grass near the edge. She flung it; it skipped across the water four times before losing momentum and sinking to the bottom. Hinata sat on the opposite shore with her feet in, leaning back on her arms and watching them walk on top, gaze drifting occasionally to the blonde boy trying–and failing–to hang a hammock. Shikamaru rested in the shade of the tree that Naruto was punching out of frustration, and Lee was in the branches, not offering any help. Sadly they all preferred to watch him struggle.

"You know what's weird?"

Sakura bent down and picked up a flat rock; flinging it, it skipped a few times before sinking. "What?"

"Have you ever had a day...like...I know I'm forgetting _something_ about today, but I don't know what," the tall blonde said slowly, raising her eyes to the sky in thought. "And it's starting to bother me," she added.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know what ya mean."

Ino folded her arms and let her weight fall on her hip, still thinking. "I'm not sure exactly either...but I know there's _something_ I'm forgetting about today."

"I don't even know what day it is," Sakura admitted, sighing. "How long have we been here, you think?"

As the conversation turned to the topic at hand, Sasuke fell into a comfortable silence, watching Sakura speak without really hearing the words.

"SASUKE–BASTARD! Come help me with this!"

The girls stopped speaking for a moment; Sakura smirked; then began to count on her fingers out loud, while Sasuke got up and trudged over to where the other guys were sitting under the trees. Naruto had somehow managed to get himself tangled in the hammock strings and the others had not yet taken pity on the poor soul.

"Is there a reason you called me 'bastard'?" Sasuke sighed, taking a seat against the other trunk, still looking out at the water where the girls paced around on the surface.

"'Cause you are one, ignoring me like that," Naruto stated simply, trying to remove the string from his wrist, for somehow he had tied it to his torso. "Besides, if you plan to use it, you might as well help me."

Sasuke got to his feet once more and struggled with it for a moment, then cursed. Naruto asked Shikamaru to help.

The strategist groaned and toyed with his silver earring, but after a minute got up and tried to assist, and after _another _minute, Lee jumped down from the branch and tried to help too.

And with four stubborn ego–driven males attempting to best another, even a simple task of untangling rope, the problem became much worse, not better, as they all ended up tangled in the rope hammock. Cursing and punching and insulting, they eventually attracted the attention of the girls, who slowly came away from the water and stood with their arms folded to watch them fight.

"That goes _here_!" Naruto whined.

"Damn it, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, landed heavily, face–first, on the ground. He then opened his eyes to a pair of bare feet; Sakura wiggled her toes and he looked up at her, Ino and Hinata, who all were pink in the face. Tangled in string and immobile, the male shinobi stared up at them, silent.

All three of them burst out laughing, Sakura pointing her finger at Sasuke and Naruto, Ino looking at Shikamaru and dissolving into hysterics, and Hinata uncontrollably giggling more than she ever had before. The men glanced at each other, then continued to struggle.

"You're making them laugh at us, Sasuke!"

"Shut up, Naruto."

"Yeah, Naruto, you couldn't even tie a knot!"

"I believe that if we were to simply cut it–"

"Okay! Okay," Sakura said, putting up her hands, cutting across their squabbling. "Come on, girls, let's help them out." The girls sat cross–legged, and, as if knitting, wove the strings in and out, untangling limbs and hair and zippers from one another...like playing a game of twister.

"Tell me again why we love idiots?" Ino asked, carefully untangling a string lest it be caught in her boyfriend's silver earring.

Sakura sighed wistfully and bent Sasuke's arm at an uncomfortable angle to remove the string and unravel it around Naruto as well. She looked at him slyly and continued to bend his limbs in fairly odd positions; Sasuke vaguely suspected she was doing this for her own twisted enjoyment. "I don't know." Shoving him into Naruto, she unraveled the rope some more and continued to grin. "Why _wouldn't_ we love idiots?"

"_I'm_ not an idiot," Sasuke said stiffly, pursing his lips like a female as she continued to toy with the string, stopping only when she mimicked him, suppressing a laugh.

"You look like a woman when you do that, Sasuke," Naruto blurted out, sending the girls into fits of laughter again; the said ninja scowled darkly, annoyed mostly at Sakura, who had let go of the rope and was on the ground laughing.

"No, I don't," he growled, nearly untangled from the string except for his foot. Jerking it irritably, he looked at Sakura, who had sat up and seemed to be bursting to say something.

"You take longer showers than me. I think that qualifies as feminine," she muttered, and Ino slapped a hand over her mouth; Hinata blushed and was struggling not to laugh at the raven–haired boy's misfortune.

Sasuke kicked the rope off his foot and stood up, towering over her with his arms folded...she stood, but he was nearly a head taller than her, and she was shaking with laughter. He peered at her, scowling.

"You think you're funny?"

She snorted. "Yes."

"I bet you do," he muttered, smirking, that sort of smirk that told her she was in trouble.

He lunged–she danced out of his reach and sprinted away, looking over her shoulder at him. He was not running after her, but they were all watching her, and–

_Aw, DAMN!_

She skidded to a stop and went around him again, ducking under his arm and smirking.

"Come on now," she chided, egging him on. "Mr. Avenger can't catch little Sakura?" The river was spread in front of her, and she ran right toward it, but Sasuke was so annoyed at her teasing that he didn't even think.

"I'm going to–"

**SPLASH.**

Sakura was holding her stomach as she bent double in laughter, standing on top of the shimmering surface and watching Sasuke break the surface and punch the water furiously.

"What's that you were gonna do?" she asked, cupping a hand over her ear as if hard of hearing. "Didn't catch it."

She was sure he was going to lose it. He hated losing, he hated being controlled or screwed over in any way, outsmarted or tricked. It wouldn't have been too difficult for him to run on the surface also, only a bit more concentration, but he had been so focused on getting to her, grabbing her doing...he didn't even _know_ what. Sakura bit down on her knuckle to keep from laughing...she knew she was going to be so angry...

But she was confused when he swam to the shore, climbed out, and shook his head like a sopping dog to set his hair back in place. Smirking, he looked at her over his shoulder and said, "I'm going to help the idiot with his hammock."

Sakura sweat dropped. "But...but..."

He chuckled quietly to himself, a strange glitter in his eyes that was not often there. "But if I were you...I wouldn't turn your back."

Expression blank, the pink–haired kunoichi remained motionless as he walked away with his hands in his pockets, snickering; the medic was rooted to the spot, biting her lip.

_Shit. He's going to one–up me somehow..._

She knew he would take his time, so, smiling and shrugging as if it were no big deal, she paced around the surface. Ino joined her after another minute, obviously enraged that she could not remember what was so important about that day.

"Damn, this is going to bother me!" Ino burst out, finally throwing herself upon the bank and huffing in annoyance. "I can't even figure out the days to begin with!"

"It's only been a couple weeks at the most," Sakura replied, joining her on the grass; Hinata was on the opposite side of the river, totally engrossed as she watched the guys _attempt_ to put together the hammock. It wasn't because of the difficulty of the task that they yelled and cursed and said "This goes here, bastard!". While each thought his own way was the right way, the girls wondered, shrewdly, if perhaps they were showing off on purpose. Well, of course they were. Even if Sasuke and Naruto were not insulting each other rudely, their way of strange, male bonding, the constant glances toward the water were too obvious.

Sakura shook her head: Both Shikamaru and Sasuke had given Naruto a swift rap upside the skull, presumably for simply being obnoxious, or maybe he was simply wrong. She giggled. "How long do you think it will take them?"

"I don't know," Ino said distractedly, staring out over the water and rubbing her nails against each other as she thought. "It's September, right?"

"Yes," Sakura said, now becoming fascinated with the scuffle by the trees. "Because I write birthdays down and someone's birthday is in September."

"Whose?"

"Erm...well it's not Naruto's and it's not mine, and it's definitely not Sasuke's," she thought aloud, now watching the latter shove Lee out of the way and attempt to bite the knot that had somehow bound him to Naruto. He cursed. No, his birthday was in the summer, beautiful July. As she ran through the list in her head, it was slowly dawning that she was missing the most important factor. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she could not think of it.

Apparently Ino gave up, for she sighed loudly and laid on her back in the grass, staring up at the intense sun; although it was late fall, the weather was fairly nice, still warm enough to be swimming, in any case.

"DONE!" Four voices yelled in triumph. Each shinobi stood and backed away, proud of his accomplishment, or rather contribution.

"Finally!" Naruto exulted, while Sasuke folded his arms and raised an eyebrow, sending Sakura into a nearly silent fit of giggles that she just couldn't help. He looked like such a pretentious bastard when he acted like that, and she loved it. She was pathetic sometimes.

Ino sat up and surveyed their creation, then turned her gaze on Sakura. "Are you _high_? What's so funny?" Sakura shook her head, quelling her amusement, and together they walked over to the boys, and Hinata joined them last.

"Well that's something," Ino drawled, staring at the hammock that swayed gently in the summer–like breeze, so warm and sleepy. Shikamaru had his hands on his hips, yawning.

"I could sleep in it right now."

"You _always_ sleep, Shikamaru," Naruto accused, and started forward. "I wanna sit in it."

"But what if someone else wants to?" Lee piped up, stepping forward. "We all put it together."

"But it was _my_ idea," Naruto whined, folding his arms and twisting his lips into a pout that was terribly cute. Sasuke rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.

"Hn." _I'm sitting in it._

"No, you're not getting it! You tried to bite the rope!" Naruto protested.

"I was _bound_ to your _arm,_" Sasuke muttered, clearly miffed at the very thought.

"Something you enjoyed too much," Sakura said in a low voice, coughing loudly to accidentally–on–purpose to make her comment obvious. Sasuke scowled at her, and she looked away innocently, smirking.

"Just fight to the death for it, or something," Ino said, resting her weight on her hip.

Immediately, they began to argue amongst themselves about how to divide up.

"All right! I believe it should be every man for himself!"

"Nah, I want teams," drawled Shikamaru.

"So you can put all the work on your teammate!" Naruto accused. Shikamaru shrugged in response.

"I actually agree with him," Sasuke said monotonously, jabbing a finger at Lee, not even wanting to utter his name. "Why do we need partners? I could wipe the floor with all of you."

"Geez, Sasuke–"

"I WAS _JOKING_!" Ino screeched, cutting across their protests.

There was a long silence.

"Oh," Naruto said. Ino slapped her forehead in exasperation, and Sakura shook her head.

"Why don't you do a simple game? Like, I don't know, rock–paper–scissors?"

"Perfect, Sakura–chan!" Lee gushed, making her smile and Sasuke sneer.

"Whatever," Shikamaru said, and made a fist. The others mimicked him while the girls looked on in anticipation and amusement. "Someone call it."

Naruto obliged. "Ready? Once, twice–HAH I BEAT YOU!" he interjected, leaving Shikamaru with a scowl as he slammed 'rock' on scissors. Shrugging, the strategist stepped back and prepared to call it for the three left.

"Once, twice, shoot!"

Sasuke smirked as 'paper' covered 'rock'; Lee seemed to sulk for a moment, but he too backed away and left the two best friends to face each other. Sasuke looked at Sakura and smirked. "Call it, Sakura."

She stepped forward and glanced at both of them, watching them grin at each other, then spoke. "Ready?"

They nodded.

"Okay. Once–twice–shoot!"

"ARGH! STUPID PAPER!" Naruto raged, as if his hand were really comprised of paper and had really let him down. He kicked the ground and pointed a finger at the victor, who smirked his pretentious smirk and put his hand back in his pocket. He had known he would win; poor Naruto, never seeming to have any luck. Sakura was staring at Sasuke, eyes narrowed because she knew what he had done, the sneaky bastard. Walking up to him, she slid her fingers into his pockets, holding his hands fast as she stood on her tip–toes to stare at him accusingly.

"Was that a glint of red I saw?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Now why would you think that?"

"Poor Naruto," Sakura sighed airily, dragging her fingernails down his palms before removing her hands from him. Looking skyward, she tilted her slightly as if in silent inquiry, and the raven–haired boy responded with an unconcerned shrug of the shoulders. "Must just be his bad luck."

She crossed her arms and turned her back on Sasuke, walking aimlessly while her jade eye was visible over her shoulder; she watched for his reaction. Wanting to escape her hawk–like stare, he turned as well, settling himself comfortably into the slightly swinging hammock beneath the foliage. Thick foliage that created a dense shadow, leaving him in it with glittering onyx eyes as he watched her pace around, now with hands clasped behind her back. Pressing his toe into the dirt, he pushed against it so he swung a bit.

"You know," he began quietly, "There _is_ room for more than one person on here." His voice was low and reached Sakura's ears amid the yelling and complaining from the rest of the group. Cutting through the babble like a curved blade across an unsuspecting throat, and she stopped with her back to him, slowly turning around. Struggling to keep the upper hand, she smirked...little did he know that just his voice was sending her Inner through a squealing dance; she hadn't seen _her_ in a while.

_God, that man could turn me on by voice alone, _she sighed dreamily.

_I think he just did._

"That'd be a cute picture," Sakura laughed lightly, taking a couple steps toward him, arms still behind her back. "You and Naruto would compliment each other perfectly."

In the shadow he smirked, and his eyebrow rose still higher. "You know as well as I do that he moves too much."

"Been cuddling with him lately?" she joked, further playing on the 'Sasuke is so pretty, he _must_ be gay' joke, something that had admittedly irked him to no end...people really thought it was funny. Unfortunately, sometimes she couldn't resist. He didn't have an answer to that, so he pressed his sandal into the dirt again and let the hammock sway again. His body moved...but his eyes didn't leave hers as he swung back and forth; she took another slow step toward him, moving deliberate and slow, as if afraid one wrong move would send her falling. But that was not true. First of all, she was just doing this to make him feel uncomfortable...

And secondly, if it had been the case, he would have easily caught her.

Noises in the background existed, but fell away into a different place...a place where she could not hear them and ignore them to the best of her ability as she continued her slow pace. To Sasuke, it was terribly agonizing.

His foot pushed the hammock again, the rocking rhythm increasing as she continued to come nearer.

Now she stood in front of him and he held the hammock back, preventing it from swinging forward as she stared down at him.

She cried out as his foot slid and the hammock hit her at the waist, knocking her off balance, his perfect opportunity to grab her and pull her next to him. After a minute of scuffling and shoving and poking, Sakura was nestled in the hammock, swaying gently back and forth in the wind. Her companion chuckled to himself, staring up at the rustling, vibrantly green foliage, pleased with his capture. The medic seemed to want to say something, but after a moment sighed in resignation and laid her head upon his rising and falling chest.

"Do people _really _think I'm gay?" he muttered, shifting a bit. Sakura made a strange sound, as though choking on spit.

"Nah, I was joking," she replied, clearing her throat and listening to his heartbeat; fast and wild, which contradicted his easy and calm demeanor. Was she making him that nervous? Hah. From her lips came a sentence she hadn't meant to say, and she cringed, nearly grinning.

"What do you mean _asexual?_"

The others turned around to see Sasuke glaring at the sky and Sakura shaking with laughter.

"Just because I don't _act_ interested doesn't mean I'm _not,_" he continued, folding his arms and seeming offended. "Like I don't hear enough from Kakashi."

"What did Kakashi–sensei say?" asked Sakura, suddenly aware that there were 5 pairs of eyes staring at them.

"Nothing," Sasuke huffed, clearly annoyed, adopting his familiar demeanor of 'ask another question and I promise to kill you'. Oh yes, he'd had _plenty _of 'talks' from his oh–so caring and informative former sensei. He sat up a bit, staring past Sakura's amused expression, and glared at everybody standing and watching as if this were a soap opera.

As one they scattered, talking about mundane things like the weather and how was your mother and what they had for breakfast.

Satisfied, he let his head fall back, closed his eyes, and sighed. He was trying to act calm, but Sakura could still feel his heartbeat. He said he'd get her back, but...it'd be easy, he was already nervous. Just from touching her?

What could harm in poking fun at him again?

"Hey Sasuke," she began in a small voice.

"Hm?"

"You know I'm sorry, right?" she said quietly, nuzzling her face into his shirt, hiding her grin as he stiffened a bit.

"For what?" he asked in a clipped, constricted voice. Sakura bit her lip to keep herself from laughing as she ran her finger in a circle on his chest.

"Oh, for, well...tricking you earlier," she cooed, fingers moving lower, now toying absentmindedly (at least, that's what she wanted it to seem like) with the hem of his black shirt. Gently, she pressed her knee into the side of his leg and breathed deeply. "It was _so wrong _of me to do," she said breathlessly, speaking against his chest. Warm and full lips told him the syllables as they were spelled into his skin, and Sasuke swallowed.

"It's okay," he said raspily, surprised at his own voice that had come out positively...

"No, no it's not," she whispered, her hand now under his shirt and against his bare skin, fingernails lightly drawing circles across his ribs. Sasuke jerked at her cold and tender touch, and he stared down at the top of her pink head, gritting his teeth; he _hated_ when she did this, keeping him under her control. How could she possibly do this? It was so annoying.

"Sakura," he muttered, clearing his throat. "I–I–if–"

"My my, did we just stutter?" she hissed, dropping her innocent act and now, _dragging _her fingers down his skin, smiling at the feel of his muscles tightening beneath her touch.

"Shut up," he growled, grabbing her wrist, cursing inwardly at his own reaction; face undeniably flushed, the sensation flooded his veins as thoroughly as burning blood. "I didn't stutter!" He spat the word, ridding his tongue of the taste of such a word, such a _weak_ word.

"Yes you di–id," she hummed, jerking from his hold and grabbing the front of his shirt. "I heard you."

"I'm done with you," Sasuke hissed. Sakura cried out as he roughly grabbed her head, a hand gripping each side, fingers woven through her pink locks; he dragged her close and stared at her for a moment, then pressed his teeth against her neck. A breathy moan tumbled off her lips, and as if it were his fault he earned a punch in the ribs.

"So...how many times am I going to have to bite you...before this thing stays?" he asked, sucking gently on her skin.

Sakura shuddered beneath him and grabbed his hair, throwing a leg around his hips and pulling her body on top of him. "Don't know. They always say if at first you don't succeed–"

"Try again?" Sasuke let his eyes fall shut as she pulled him closer, breasts pressing against his collarbone. "Well then..."

"**OHMYGOD**!"

_Oh, hell no. NO._

"**GOD! LOOK AT THIS! THIS IS CRAZY! OH DEAR GOD!**_"_

Sakura was so angry she could have killed something...anything...anything that had a heartbeat, even a cute little kitten with round eyes. And as she looked up at Sasuke she wondered just how angry he was, just how much he felt like taking the neck of that tall skinny blonde and just snapping it. Of course, this wasn't something they necessarily wanted to be mad about ending, right, because it was nothing.

"**Oh my god, who _did_ this?**"

Sasuke roared in frustration and shoved Sakura off his chest and onto the ground, stomping as he tumbled out of the hammock. His hands were shaking and twitching so violently that someone who had cared enough might have stopped him from doing something hasty, but Sakura was far from helping him or anybody else as she pulled herself off the ground.

Ino continued to screech, drowning out the mumbling and questioning, and as her voice rose to an ear–splitting din, both shinobi pulled out weapons and began to sprint.

"YOU'D BETTER BE DYING, INO–PIG!" Sakura shrieked, while Sasuke slowed a bit as the clearing came into view...

The lanky blonde was perched atop a large crate, legs crossed and eyes sparkling as she hugged herself in hysterical glee and continued to screech. The others quickly took in their flushed appearance, stored it in their minds as yet another failed attempt, and did not say a word. Ino curled her fists under chin and looked as though she were in heaven.

"GUESS WHAT?!"

There was no response.

"Well, Sakura, I remembered what day it was!" she said with an air that suggested she was quite proud of herself. "Guess what day it is?"

"Your fucking funeral?" she muttered through gritted teeth; Ino didn't hear.

"It's my birthday! And even though we're all the way out here, someone got me a present!"

Sasuke looked as though he had lockjaw, while Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly, perhaps wondering if he could pretend it wasn't _his_ crazy girlfriend yelling about a gift.

"And you're never gonna guess what it is!"

Sakura had a shrewd idea, and whoever had thought to give her it was going to answer to her if they ever got out of here alive. Sasuke's kunai snapped in his hand and fell to the dust.

"The perfect way to celebrate," Ino continued, giving the group a thumbs–up. Sakura slapped her forehead.

"Kill me."

"Well fine then, you don't have to have any, wuss," the blonde drawled, hopping down from the box and ripping open the back. "Sasuke, what do you want?"

Everybody stared at him for a moment, and then hung his head. "Anything strong."

"Gotcha!" she chirped.

Arranged in a small circle, Ino held her glass out and smiled. "I'm 18!"

"Whoop–dee–"

"Let's just toast her," Shikamaru interjected, casting a wary glance at Sasuke, whose lip twitched.

A series of 'clink's echoed as they toasted one another and Ino downed hers immediately, cheeks already pink. Sakura clenched her class tightly and hit it against Sasuke's, avoiding his gaze. He smirked at her.

"What?" she asked, sipping her drink and surveying him carefully. He just _had_ to start something.

"You shouldn't be drinking...you're not of age."

"Quiet."

Sasuke snatched the glass from her and ran his lips over the edge, smirking. "Besides, you can't hold your liquor well."

Sakura tugged his from his fingers and glared at him. "Says _you_."

Sasuke drained his glass and set his gaze on her; it was quite steady. "And I'm right."

It took a few more seconds, but Sakura licked her lips and set her glass in the dirt, mirroring his pretentious smirk of confidence. "I'm fine."

"Prove it." _Because I don't lose. _

"I kicked your ass and now I'm going to beat you in a drinking contest," she teased, still grinning.

As their witty banter continued and Ino gladly offered them more, Shikamaru sipped his drink and stared up at the slowly moving clouds, drifting in their lovely, lazy way across the blue sky. He sighed.

"Who gets drunk in the _afternoon,_ anyway?"

* * *

Dear god. --cracks up-- I always keep myself wanting more. Wonder how that works.

What do YOU think is gonna happen?


	23. TellTale Cherry Tomatoes

Crack. Don't tell me they're OOC, 'cause they wasted. They should be. Sorry this took a while...my entire hard drive crashed, and I lost the computer for two weeks, and all of my writing is gone, basically. What's posted on this site and a few other sites, as well as my notebooks, is all I have left, and after four years, it's like...what, 35 percent? Broke my spirit a bit, but hey, I learned a lesson, always back things up. Okay, so I cried a bit, but it's like losing a child, I swear, it's so bad. Or maybe I'm a little obsessive, I don't care. Point is, I had to copy/paste, fix format, update changes I made to the original I posted, and slowly rebuild the entire outline.

Now that I'm a bit closer I think this will be either 27 or 28 chapters, including the epilogue --which is already written --, so we're getting near the end of this...part, I guess you could say. And you're not going to think this, but this chapter does have a point.

I. Love. Emo. Boys. With every fiber of my being. Some words I must say: Kinky, Tomatoes, Stigmata!

* * *

**Chapter 23: Tell–Tale Cherry Tomatoes**

"Sayyyy it," Sakura cooed, staring up at the sky, breathing heavily with a strangely unfocused gaze. Fingers shook like trembling leaves in a vicious wind as she trailed soft tips up warm bare calves; the cradle her body rested in jerked. She mumbled, and he laughed obnoxiously.

"SAY IT!" she screeched over Hinata's soft humming. Well, the humming that sounded soft to _her_. A pink flush stained her cheeks as the normally quiet girl half sung, half hiccuped the song, familiar to all ears as the one played at a wedding. Naruto had his head rested on the ground near the Hyuga and was waving a broken bottle of champagne in the air, burping occasionally. He pointed the broken glass at Ino, who was sitting cross–legged on top of the now nearly empty crate. Glass littered the dirt along with shredded labels and articles of assorted clothing from a myriad of owners. Ino howled with laughter, then cooed as Shikamaru stumbled ungracefully to his feet and leaned on the wooden box, staring at the blonde with heavy–lidded eyes.

"Do you take this lazy thing to be your husband? To wash the dishes and forget anniversaries and cater to your every pathetic whim?" Absentmindedly, the pink–haired girl punched the muscular calf at her side and stuck her tongue out at the raven–haired ninja, who was fingering the shards of broken glass with a lopsided smile.

"Do you, you wasted pig?" Sakura asked, stifling a hiccup, followed by a drunken cascade of giggles.

"Psh, way-sted?" Ino said slowly, forming the words deliberately with her slipping tongue. "Look a' yourself...in the huuuuge reflection o' your FOREHEAD!" she screeched, flinging an empty glass at the kunoichi on the ground. Sasuke stopped running his fingers over the shards; little rivets of crimson decorated his hands; and rose them to make his rude gesture.

"Fuck you and your bad aim," he chuckled, wrapping his legs around Sakura's body and putting his arms back to keep his slowly wavering balance.

"Well _I _do," Shikamaru growled, grabbing his girlfriend roughly by the shoulders and attacking her with his lips.

The tipsy strategist was smacked in the head by Lee, who, while only on his second drink, had already had his fill. Blearily, he fixed Shikamaru with a serious gaze...as serious as he could muster with his lovesick grin spread wide over his round face. "But she didn't say _she _did."

"Wel' I DO!" Ino screamed in his face, taking Shikamaru's face and pinching both his cheeks.

"That's good," Shikarmaru replied, eyes squinted as though staring through foggy glass. He probably was not quite sure who she was. "'Cause I do too."

"You may kiss the pig! I mean–bride!"

"What's the difference?" Sasuke asked his companion, and they collapsed in hysterical laughter.

"Come 'ere," Ino whispered, and threw herself upon Shikamaru; they landed on the ground, limbs tangled and glued at the lips. Sasuke began running his fingers over the shards again.

"So sharp..."

"Don't touch those," Sakura snapped, slapping his hand, and he dropped the glass.

Hinata was sniffling.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Naruto yelled, sitting up and swaying as he continued to swing the neck of the bottle, which was all that was left of the champagne.

"Weddings make me sooooo saaad!" She wailed in her high–pitched voice, lip trembling and fingers shaking, accidentally nudging her glass with her bare foot. Her tolerance of three drinks, or maybe it had been four, was far past, but luckily all it had done was make her become _slightly_ overemotional. She and Lee had even teamed up to brilliantly rescue a squirrel...that was now wandering around with a bent tail after Sasuke and Naruto had nearly stomped it to death while singing their rendition of a fast–paced funeral march. Lee and Hinata had cried for nearly twenty minutes.

"Well weddings make me freakin' happy!" Sakura burst out, completely oblivious to the 'newlywed' couple now rolling on the ground, back and forth.

"You're happy 'cause you're WASTED," Naruto accused, pointing an unsteady finger at the medic and glaring with bloodshot eyes. "You should be ashamed of yourself. And so should _you,_" he added, indicating Sasuke, who was taking Sakura's hands in his own and clapping them together. The unnerving chuckle had not and would not cease, and Sasuke smirked and spoke as the sound of their skin slapping echoed in the air.

"Naruto–needs–to–cheer–up! Stop–acting–like–a–party–pooper," he said, sneering in a feminine way and wrapping his arms around his hysterical companion; she screeched and they swayed back and forth, Sasuke nuzzling her neck gently.

"Well _you're_ a woman...I found out something," Naruto taunted, tapping his own head with the broken bottle. "I found out you use Sakura's shampoo...it smells like freakin' cherries," he added, raising an eyebrow and grinning obnoxiously.

"Why'sat matter?" Sasuke asked, voice shaking slightly, eyes widening like a child's.

"'Cause it makes you smell like a woooman. Which means you _are_ a woman."

"What's wrong with smelling pretty?" Sakura asked, pouting; Sasuke buried his face between her shoulder blades and looked downcast.

"It's okay... if you're a girl," Naruto sneered at Sasuke over Sakura's shoulder; his dark eyes were round and emotional as he stared back at the blonde, seeming extremely distraught.

"Kick his ass, Sakura," Sasuke whined, making a rude gesture as Naruto clenched a fist.

"_You_ go kick his ass," she snapped. "You're the one who thinks so highly of yourself."

Hinata wailed louder, shaking her head furiously from side to side. "STOOOP! Fighting is wrong!"

Stricken, Naruto jumped to his feet, tottered sideways, straightened and dropped to his knees next to Sasuke, loudly hushing her. "We're not fighting, see? We love each other like siblings," Naruto exclaimed, throwing his arms his best friend's neck; the bottle fell to the dirt and Sasuke tried to squirm away, eager to keep his arms around Sakura. The girl was drawing pictures in the dust with her finger and giggling; Shikamaru and Ino were still rolling back and forth as Sakura began to hum to herself.

"I'm so _happy_! Cheer up, you guys, it's a wedding, remember?"

Hinata continued to cry, whining piteously, and Sakura growled and thrust a random glass at her; it missed by several feet. "I SAID CHEER UP, DAMN IT!"

"Sing a song!" Lee exclaimed, emerging from the trees behind Hinata and hugging himself. "That always cheers _me_ up!"

"You thought I was a woman? Look at this guy," Sasuke slurred, pointing in a direction that was nowhere near Lee. "He's the one who cries so much."

"I DO_ NOT_ CRY!"

"Yes, you do, just like a girl," Sasuke retorted, dragging out the last word with mocking emphasis.

Lee clutched his head but made no effort to stem the thick flow of shining tears decorating his face; Hinata looked at Lee, so upset, and dissolved into, if possible, louder, piercing wails.

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke roared belligerently, snatching Naruto's bottle and bringing his arm back to fling it, but the blonde threw himself upon his stolen object and they began to slap each other for it, occasionally tossing in insults–

"Bastard!"

"Idiot!"

"Um...ramen–lover!"

"Yeah, well you're a kitten–hater!"

Sasuke paused. "Who said I hated kittens?"

Now Sakura seemed near tears; crawling forward on her knees, she grasped the front of his shirt and stuck her face in his as she whimpered. "You don't...hate kittens...do you Sasuke?"

Nervous, Sasuke tugged on his collar. "Well...they're erm...not the best but–"

Sakura punched him roughly in the ribs and sent him to the ground, wheezing and rolling on his back to stare up with watery eyes at the night sky. Twilight had long since descended upon them and the fire that had been made before finishing the drinking contest was still crackling in the semi–darkness. After 4 or 5 shots, Sasuke and Sakura had decided it would be a good idea to see what else the crate held, and after the champagne had been thrust upon the rest of them, it was all she wrote.

Clasping his hands together, the avenger thrust his lip out and stared at the tiny cuts on his hand, blinking away tears. "I wish I'd _never_ kicked that kitty that left a surprise in my shoe!"

Sakura gasped and stared at him in disbelief, eyes shimmering with tears. "I DON'T EVEN _KNOW_ YOU ANYMORE!"

Abruptly, she smiled, as if a lightbulb had lit above her head.

"But I know how to make you guys happy!"

Everybody turned to look at her; a few feet away, Shikamaru was tipping the crate on it's side, revealing it's empty contents to Ino, whose eyes lit up. Sakura turned to Sasuke as though she had not just punched him in the ribs and asked if he had any rope.

"What do I look like?" he asked, affronted, folding his arms.

"A whore!" Naruto supplied, running a hand through his hair.

"Excuse me?" Sasuke asked, pursing his lips and frowning. Ino nodded her head and dropped to her knees, peering cautiously into the crate as Shikamaru put his hands on the top, egging her on.

"Please, we all know you're the whacked out, extremely jealous and possessive type of bastard that is masochistic and enjoys biting, bloodshed and head banging music during sex. So don't even _try_ to tell me you don't have rope," Naruto said lightly, rubbing his bloodshot eyes. There was a long silence, interrupted only by the crate falling heavily, trapping Ino inside, and Shikamaru jumped on top and laughed loudly. Angry fists pounded on the wood, but their only response was a drunken laugh and a mocking wave through the planks.

"That's hot," Sakura whispered, nodding in approval. Then she smiled lopsidedly. "So you roll both ways, Sasy–chan? My my..."

"No, I don't," he whined.

Sakura put up her hands defenisvely. "It's okay...I don't care. But I'm not the one who has the whole 'repopulate the clan' thing in my little black book, and you certainly can't do that with a _man_, now can you?"

"Yeah, weren't you planning to do that with her?" Naruto asked, jabbing a finger in the general vicinity of the pink–haired girl, who tilted her head owlishly and smirked at Sasuke.

"NO!"

Sakura and Naruto both grinned, clearly amused, (although it didn't take much).

"Okay, yes. Just not right away."

"YAY! I won't die a virgin!" Sakura cheered, punching her fist in the air and falling on her back. Then she gagged on her saliva, but not having the idea of perhaps sitting up to clear her throat.

"But first I have to kill–"

"Me?"

"No, Naruto, not _you_," Sasuke snapped angrily, picking up a piece of glass and throwing it at him; it missed by inches. "You're not important enough. Anyway, first I have to kill–"

"Is it Hinata? 'Cause if you want to kill her you have to get through me first and that just puts you back to square one–"

"NO, I don't want to kill Hinata. She wouldn't put up a fight, and that'd be really boring. No, the man I want to kill is–"

"Lee, for watching Sakura strip on the tabletop on her 17th birthday?"

"NO, I don't want to kill–WAIT ONE FUCKING MINUTE!"

"Oh! It's Itachi! I knew it!" Naruto exclaimed, bloodshot eyes widening as his toothy grin spread over his face.

"Itachi's _hot_," Sakura interjected, lying on her back, chewing on a blade of grass.

"What'd he do again?"

"Killed his family, kept Sasuke alive out of his own gain, left his only family member an angry and confused boy. _That_ all left him scarred and positively emo."

"Emo," Sasuke repeated, scoffing in a pretentiously feminine way and pouting as he stuffed his hands in his lap, out of sight. "I'm not emo."

"You injure yourself with glass," Naruto muttered, looking disgusted; Sakura rolled onto her stomach and peered up at Sasuke, who was hiding his face behind a curtain of raven locks. His lip was trembling and she picked up a bottle and threw it at Naruto, and it hit it's target with a sickening thunk.

"You leave the little emo alone! It's not his fault he has nothing better to do with his hands than poke himself with sharp objects to relieve the pain!" As if she understood him, she gave him a sad, piteous look, while he pulled in his neck like a turtle.

The sound of splintering wood erupted in the air as Ino's fist slammed through her crate prison; Shikamaru was a few feet away, trying to keep Lee from slamming his head into the ground, and Hinata was still wailing.

"There's better things to do with your hands!" Naruto said, sounding annoyed, and picked up a nearby shard of glass. He rolled up his sleeves. Suspending it over his forearms, he pretended to stab his skin and mimicked what he must have thought sounded like Sasuke...basically, it was a drunken rant. "'Ooh, look at me, I'm poor emo Sasuke, I hate everybody and I _kick kittens_ for fun and I'm a total masochist! I like spicy foods and the taste of blood and nobody understands me, I hate my brother because he stole the last tomato!'"

Sakura slapped a hand over her mouth, shaking with suppressed laughter as she sat next to Sasuke, occasionally glancing at him. The victim of Naruto's rant kept his head down, but his scowl became more and more pronounced as it continued.

"'I might as well be _asexual_ since I don't give the other sex the time of day, oh no," the blonde said in a prim voice, waving his hand. "'I have to sell my soul to psychos and act like I hate everything and constantly keep myself from slipping up, since I have as many adult books under my bed as any other guy. And when I'm alone, I like to brood, think of Sakura, and be emo.'"

Sakura was hugging Sasuke, but laughing hysterically while he looked around him for an empty bottle through his bloodshot eyes, although the ebony pupils of the Sharingan were forming as well.

"'Here I go!' Cut, cut, 'It's the only pain I can controool!" Naruto wailed obnoxiously, still oblivious to the fact that Sasuke was raising a bottle above his head, ready to silence him; Sakura was still laughing, the sort of laugh that cracks ribs.

"'Hell, I love tomatoes more than girls, but the tomatoes don't LOVE ME BACK! Sobcry!'"

Sasuke's arm tensed, poised to slam the glass down on the thick skull that had not an ounce of sense left at this point, but relaxed, looking distraught.

"I...can't do that to him."

He let the bottle fall to the ground, but his fingers curled into a fist.

**SLAM.**

Naruto's head snapped back, blood painting twisting ribbons through the air as he landed on his back; Sakura was stunned, clutching Sasuke's sleeve, and the shock had left Hinata, Lee, and Shikamaru with their mouths open...Ino was still stuck in the crate. Sasuke was now staring at his hand in wonder and Naruto was amazingly, already sitting up, shaking his head.

Naruto took in a deep breath, eyes round as saucers as he stared at his forearm. A large shard of glass was embedded in his flesh, and he stared at Sasuke, who stared back. Slowly, they each rose a shaking finger and attempted to point at each other, although Naruto's finger was pointing at Sakura and Sasuke's was pointing far above the blonde's head.

Everybody burst out laughing except Naruto, who clutched his forearm and began to roll on the ground, screaming, hysterically. But nobody helped him.

* * *

_Tap, tap._

"You!"

Milliseconds of silence were too long for the Uchiha to wait. The idiot made a mistake:

"My name is–"

_Impatient. So much to do. So many people to keep in line. So much to wait for, but in this scheme, so little time._

The Akatsuki leader's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought to himself, gently tugging the kunai from whomever's chest he had thrust it in so unsuspectingly. Sighing, he carelessly tossed the metal weapon onto the floor, and the ominous clatter echoed. A cloaked shinobi swiftly crossed the threshold, standing at attention except for the slightly inclined head. Tilted so he did not have to stare into authority's eyes, for the sole reason of seeing life's guilty mistakes when he met his gaze.

It happened to each ninja that came near him: Not one could look him in the eyes without enduring a barrage of the very worst memories, and the weaker simply broke down. He didn't care, though.

"Something wrong, my Lord?" the underling inquired, eyes staring at an ebony tile to Itachi's left.

"Not at all. I need statistics on the age groups for the trial runs," Itachi said in a voice barely above a whisper, in one sentence dropping one subject and going straight into another, and each of his men knew to follow. Or risk punishment.

The shinobi nodded firmly and waited for his leader to walk past him before turning and keeping up a steady pace right behind. Feet did not make the sounds, only the barely–there 'swish' of cloaks caressing the black tiles, like wind brushing tendrils of hair from a still face. He did not know this description, for he never touched faces, he did not emotionally synchronize with anyone, not even the little boy he had chosen to let live.

_And now my little brother is wasting time and his body..._

_So much lust in those eyes...yet he is so humanized..._

_Intriguing, these differences._

He raised his eyes to the cold glass windows that separated these experiments from the world. Bathed in white, sheets and the bloodless skin of the barely alive; hollowed faces avoided his gaze, for word had gotten around how dangerous being near this man was. Either asleep or pretending to be, bodies of all sizes laid in equally spaced cots, waiting to die.

"As expected, elderly and those with disabilities and weak immune systems were the first to go," the attendant explained, squinting in the eerie white light that shone from the ceiling.

Outside looking in, with no sympathy.

"Symptoms were greatly varied through the middle ages, depending on all different factors, from gender to personality, ninja experience and family life."

Expected; Itachi nodded, letting the man continue.

"But ages, particulary children ranging from 8 to 12, showed an abnormally strong resistance...symptoms are less fatal and appear slowly, and they absorb mental abuse extremely well..."

The tone in his voice was clear: He did not know why.

But the Uchiha did, very much so. Because that age was when the personality of a child is formed, when they are slowly crossing the difficult border between the comfortable fantasy of their innocent minds, and the harsher reality that came with growing older. For some it was gradual.

And for some, it fell upon their shaking shoulders like a ruthless slap in the face. Going to sleep in one time, one world, and awakening in another that was so much different than the one they remembered. He knew...because it had happened to him, and it had happened to his little brother as well. It turned people into, simply, the people they were now.

His subjects dare not speak to him unless they were spoken to first, so the man with the clipboard waited quietly until Itachi raised his head to see a face staring back at him through the glass. The sunken jade eyes and soft pink locks, both plastered with blood, glared at him with ferocious hatred. The fact that it was coming from such a young child–she couldn't have been older than 9– was the only reason he held her gaze.

"YOU!" she hissed, slamming her small hand against the glass, fingers leaving her handprint in crimson. "YOU! LOOK AT ME!"

Raising his blank eyes to hers, impassive, he waited. He would not kill her, not yet. Obviously, this little girl had something to say.

"You'll get yours," she whispered in a raspy voice, tears of fury rising in her bright eyes. "It'll happen eventually. And I'll be waiting for you in hell," she added, digging her nails against the glass. "You'll have a never ending line of people waiting for a piece of _you_."

The man did not move, although the man with the clipboard did tense.

"You've _never_ killed the love in your heart. You're not as strong as you think. If you were, you would not be going to such lengths to take out one person."

The air seemed be stolen, like a stolen kiss.

The slightest muscles contracted to show the activating Sharingan...the little girl continued to punch her fist against the glass until his experienced genjutsu took a powerful hold on her body and sent her eyes rolling into the back of her head. Eventually her fist fell, and Itachi waited until he saw the whites of her eyes before tensing–

All so instantaneous: Her body was slammed against the back wall in the same second the glass shattered against him, slicing pale skin and breaking into tinier pieces as they broke on the tile. The girl's little skull exploded from it's impact, like dropping a watermelon onto the sidewalk from a few stories above. Itachi's lip twitched, and his constant blinking was the only indication that his head was pounding like the biggest bass drum. Medical ninja stared at the observation window that was now simply a gaping hole in the wall.

Turning on his heel, he stalked off, footsteps still unheard, just the floor–length cloak brushing the pieces on the floor as if they were the finest glass.

And they were.

* * *

"OHHH! My shadow's the _only damn thing_ that walks me beside meee!" 

"My empty heart's the only thing that's beating–"

"Find me! Find me!" Naruto sung in an embarrassingly high–pitched falsetto, now completely killing the tempo as he swayed slightly from his perch on top of the crate. One arm slung carelessly around Sasuke's shoulders, they let their besotted voices fall into a lilting cascade of clashing tones; Shikamaru provided a capable, if not decent echo if you ignored the fact it was all the same monotone note.

"'Til then we walk toooogether," Naruto hiccuped, knees finally giving way as he clung to Sasuke's shirt, sliding to the crate's surface and sitting near Shikamaru.

"It's 'a-lone-na'," Sasuke corrected, syllables spoken with the most careful precision he could muster in his state. "I–idiot."

"GOOD MORNING, KOHONA!" Naruto roared, throwing his arms up in the air as if waiting for his adoring fans to erupt into fangirl–worthy cheers. A small, semi–round object bounced off his forehead, presumably thrown from one of his 'adoring fans': Sakura cradled the bowl of fruit in her lap and picked up another one, while Ino dug her entire hand in to find the largest one. Hinata put her hand in too, giving Ino a dirty look as they fought over the bowl.

Ino flung an orangish fruit at Shikamaru, but it missed by inches and landed somewhere in the darkness. It was only a few hours until dawn. "Get off the stage!" she yelled. "Or at least sing something that isn't completely gothic."

"It's emo!" Sasuke retorted, clutching his head. "God, it's no _wonder_ none of you understand us!"

"I'm going out tonight, feelin' alright," Ino murmured, still throwing around the tiny vegetables; Shikamaru immediately spoke the next few lines:

"Gonna let it all hang out, wanna make some noise, really raise my voice, ye-ah I wanna scream and shout–"

"No inhibitions, make no conditions, get a lil' out a line, we don't need to act politically correct," Sakura joined in, "We only wanna have a good time–"

A lopsided grin spread over Ino's face as she continued, pitches recognizable. "The best thing about bein' a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun and–"

"OH OH OH!" Naruto interjected, "Go totally cray-zay!"

"Forget I'm a lay-day," Ino added. Sakura grinned as she continued.

"Man shirts, short skirts, OH OH OH!"

"Really go wild, yeah, doin' it in style–"

"OH OH OH!" Naruto added, yet again, grabbing Sasuke's arm and clawing his way up to a standing position; Shikamaru hung on the avenger's other side, and all three of them took the floor.

"Get in the action, feel the a–tract–shun!"

"Color my hair, do what I dare!" the three girls sung, extremely off–pitch, back to them.

"OH, OH OH! I wanna be free, yeah–"

"Feel the way I feel," the girls chimed in unison, still throwing the small fruits at the trio on top of the crate, who sung the last line in unison as well, barely standing.

"Man, I feel like a woman!"

"Because you are one!" Naruto added, grinning at Sasuke and throwing his free arm up into the air. Another piece of food hit him in the forehead and he screeched, stumbled backward and dragged Sasuke down with him as he fell over the edge of the crate and onto the ground. Shikamaru fell forward and into the dirt, while Ino giggled and pelted her boy's limp form with cherry tomatoes.

"Sasy–chan," Sakura called, popping a cherry tomato in her mouth; Ino and Hinata both grabbed the bowl at the same time and started tugging.

Sasuke untangled himself from Naruto and stood, nearly falling again as he rubbed his bloodshot eyes; he ran into the crate.

"Excuse me," he muttered, patting the wood gently as if he'd run into a dog. Raising his head, he screeched in a way similar to Naruto and put up his hands to protect himself from the little fruit that nearly hit him in the face. "Aah! God hates me!"

"C'meeere," Sakura whined, putting out her arms and shaking her hands like a little child wanting to be picked up and held. The other girls continued to play tug of war over the ceramic bowl of cherry tomatoes. Sakura stuck her hands in and grabbed one, then waved it in front of their eyes.

"OOH! LOOK! It's the last one that's...orange! Go get it!" With that, she threw it in a random direction and snatched the bowl back as they went off to get it, shoving each other, disregarding Lee's passed out self as they stepped on him.

Picking up another, she twirled it in her fingers before throwing it at Sasuke again.

"Why, why do you hate me?" Sasuke asked the sky, convinced it was pelting him with food as he put his hands over his head and cowered.

"C'mere," Sakura repeated, the bowl cradled in her lap and an expectant, almost unnerving smile on her face.

Sasuke walked slowly, eyes darting left and right as he followed her request and sat roughly upon the dirt. "What is it, Sakura–chan?" he asked seriously, eyes wide.

"Look at these," she said in a low voice, holding a cherry tomato between her thumb and forefinger. "I know how much you like tomatoes, Sasy–chan, and here they are!" To further provoke him, she waved the little fruit in front of his face, watching his eyes follow their taunting dance. Her gaze slid in and out of focus, and occasionally she stared at her nose.

"They look good, right?" she asked maddeningly, the hand not holding the fruit absentmindedly fiddling with her camisole strap.

Sasuke nodded, like a little boy awaiting a big surprise.

"Would you, _no_, but...would you _like_ one?"

He nodded again, frantically, eyes still fixed on the cherry tomato she was twirling in her fingers.

"Really?" she asked in a hushed voice, blinking a few times and seeming surprised.

"Yes, I would," Sasuke said quietly, entranced.

"Okay then!"

Sasuke let out a horrified cry as she shoved the tomato she had been teasing him with into her mouth; chewing slowly, she smiled, letting the juices seep over her full lips and closing her eyes in ecstasy. His lip was trembling dangerously, and he lunged for the bowl in her lap, but she was too quick and he ended up grabbing the inside of her thigh.

Giggling sadistically, she stuck her face in the bowl and ate two more, hysterically amused by the sight of his face. Getting to her feet, she stumbled off, still eating them, and he stood and tried to run after her, but was unable to go very fast. Not that his target was moving quickly either.

Grinning, Sakura dropped the bowl and held the last few in her cupped hands as she tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground; she rolled onto her back, only to have Sasuke land heavily on top of her, seeming extremely distraught.

"I want one!"

"I don't kno–ow," Sakura sang, brushing her lips against another one and smirking. "I think you need to work for it."

And with that, she pulled her shirt out and dropped the last cherry tomato down her camisole.

Sasuke was horrified. "No..."

His expression crumpled for a moment, but when he rose his head he looked wild and angry as his red eyes glared at her beneath his slightly ruffled locks. Transfixed, Sakura's laugh began to fade as he roughly grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head; due to the position they were in, he bent them back around the tree trunk as he brought his knees up to pin down her now struggling thighs. She felt him working furiously with her wrists, and looked up at him questioningly as his eyebrows furrowed with intent concentration.

A breath caught in her throat as the rope tightened around her wrists, securely binding them to the tree trunk, and he glared down at her squirming form. He took her by the shoulders and propped her a bit higher, bending her neck painfully, although through her drunken haze the pain wouldn't hit until much later.

"What are you–"

Her inquiry was silenced as he turned his Sharingan eyes on her struggling body, still glaring. His answer was frighteningly staccato, a low growl that resonated in her ears, so thick and full of lust.

"I want one. I'll get one."

Chuckling softly, he watched her at the eyes; he let out a cry as she jammed her knee into his ribs, and as she straightened her leg he slid down with it, pressing her into the ground. He dragged his hips across hers, earning a soft moan before looking down at her...jade eyes slightly crossed, pink hair fanned out in every direction, chest rising heavily with every breath and just a slight smear of that juice on her bottom lip. Cheeks stained rouge and the most minuscule beads of sweat dotting her forehead, this sight of her made him smile.

She gasped as he gently suckled her bottom lip, tasting the juice while she shrugged her shoulders against her neck as he continued–

"SAS–MM MMM!"

He cut her off, covering her mouth with his hand; she continued to make sounds in her throat, murmurs and then a small scream as he nipped the already purple bruise on her neck.

Her knees came up, jamming his ribs again, and he forced his lower body into her as his lips brushed her collarbone, giving way to sharp jabs wherever he pleased.

With a strangled moan, Sakura shuddered beneath him, squirming relentlessly against his warm and violent touch. Lips twisted in a lopsided grin, he roughly grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pushed it up, exposing her muscular, toned stomach, more unmarked, burning flesh. His hand continued to rid her body of the obstruction as he closed his eyes and let his tongue search her skin for the object he so wanted. Occasionally a bite was in order, as the lower he descended the more she writhed and twisted beneath him; her stomach vibrated and hummed with the moans of pleasure trapped inside, the ones that he prevented from escaping. His hand was still over her mouth.

His nose found it first, nudging the round fruit as a kitten nuzzles it's mother; it was cradled in her defined muscles, a little lower than her bellybutton.

In one snap, it was in his mouth and being chewed...drops of the warm juice dotted her lower stomach, causing her hips to buck forward as she tried to bite his fingers. She was positively shuddering beneath him as he _dragged_ his burning tongue across her lower stomach, making sure to steal every last drop of tomato juice; now she squealed. Glancing up at her, he teasingly let his fingertips caress her lips, and before he'd even completely uncovered her mouth the vicinity echoed with a breathless, heavy groan.

"Sas...uke," she whined, eyes half–closed as she pulled her wrists, chest thrust out as she struggled. Laughing quietly, he tugged her camisole down and supported his weight on one elbow as he stared down at her, smirking at her labored breathing. Both gazes unfocused; Sakura's lip jutted out, wanting more, but the avenger was too near passing out to even construct a thought.

"Tastes good," he mused, the syllables clumsy and slipping as he leaned down to take her lips in his. Sakura moaned quietly, his experienced tongue overpowering hers easily, burning as he memorized every little detail of her mouth, leaving his taste. Tangy, cherry tomatoes.

"Mmm," he hummed, letting his teeth drag over her lower lip as he pulled away, leaving the girl beneath him breathless and cross–eyed. Stretching, he easily undid the knot keeping her arms useless; apparently it was not as tight as it had seemed. Exhausted, she left her limbs where they had fallen and let her eyes fall closed, letting out a small whimper as Sasuke pressed his nose into her bruised neck.

Sakura chuckled quietly and brought her arm from behind her, fingers shaking as they clutched one last bottle. Tipping it, she directed the thin stream of liquor into her mouth and finished it off, Sasuke watching her closely. Tossing it aside, she grabbed his collar and pulled him close, voice an intoxicating, lilting slur–

"I beat you."

With one last touch of the lips, she let her head fall back and closed her eyes once more, done, a strange smile plastered on her face. Sasuke's unusually amused grin faltered a bit as he let his head fall forward on her collarbone, also passed out.

* * *

An unnatural stillness fell, absolute if you ignored the crackling of the barely burning fire and the gentle wafting breeze, ruffling the foliage. Each shinobi was quiet, having effectively drunken themselves into a deep stupor, or unconsciousness. 

Shards of glass, crushed by heavy boots, pierced the stillness but did not awaken any of the ninja sprawled on the ground, and in some case, on other people. Long, pitch black cloaks brushed the ground like soothing fingers, and a quiet, firm voice stated:

"Seems like it worked."

His companions nodded in the dimness, and with a nod in reply from their squad leader they separated, stepping carefully among the bodies and bottles. As one, they left the wrapped objects near the unconscious shinobi, handling them unnaturally gently.

"Done."

_Excellent,_ their leader said quietly, speaking to each one of them; in response they clutched their heads as the voice pierced their minds, leaving them so vulnerable. _This...drunken stupor they all seem to be in is just a bonus, I believe._

Nodding, they disappeared as a group and reappeared in a black–tiled room, not raising their heads to meet his eyes as his voice penetrated each and every mind he owned.

_Every shinobi is in position, every spy is doing his or her duty. Be ready to leave at a moment's notice. _Itachi slowly opened his eyes, grip on the arm of the chair tightening slightly; the glint of his ring caught the blinding, white fluorescent above and cast tiny rainbows on the ebony tiles. His lip curled upward in a slight sneer as he surveyed the little, insignificant men he had chosen to send out. Shinobi from the books, feared in villages across the country, now under his command and ruled by fear and nothing but.

_A question?_ Itachi inquired, his voice reverberating throughout the minds of his men. One nodded in assent, not daring to raise his face anymore for fear of what he might glimpse.

"Do you know exactly when we will strike, my Lord?"

Itachi acted as though he were contemplating, but he really was not; visage impassive as ever, he lowered his head slightly, collar effectively hiding his neck. _Tomorrow night. _

Question answered, they each inclined their heads and disappeared as one in silence.

Rising from his chair, the former Akatsuki _member_ clasped his hands behind his back and walked slowly across the floor, footsteps always unheard, just the gentle swish of the cloak. Around his seat and to the back, where a small chest of drawers stood, carved of some dark wood and engraved with silver. An old writing desk, with slots for letters and small drawers and a surface to use for the composition of such documents. The middle drawer was not adorned with any decoration, and it was this one that he opened with white fingers. The only sound in the room was the scrape of wood against wood, and it revealed 8 gleaming rings, each different from the others, unique in every aspect. Even when they had been worn, not one on the same finger.

Removing the drawer completely from it's slot, he held it in both his hands for a moment, then tipped it, letting them clink against each other and onto the blank expanse that would typically be used to draft a letter. With thin fingers he did not hesitate as he held them between his thumb and forefinger, placing it aside. One.

Surveying another for half a moment, he placed it a couple inches apart from the first, positioned the exact way. Two.

Again. Three.

One more, four.

He continued until they were equally spaced in front of him. Every ring he counted, every death he specifically remembered, bringing the tiniest smirk to his face. Truthfully, his former partner had been the only battle that had meant anything...none of the others had put up a fight worthy of being called such. The one battle he had cared about, yearned for, and embraced. Unlike most of the partners, they had gotten along very well compared to the rest.

_But you know why I did it, Kisame._ _Be honored._

They had not expected it. But where, oh where in the rules did it state that you couldn't?

It didn't.

Eight shinobi...eight unique types of blood, eight souls he had condemned to everlasting heights...or perhaps not.

_He always talked so politely, like a gentleman..._Itachi remembered in an unusual emotion that might have been labeled as 'fondness'. Although it really did not matter now.

In half a second the rings went flying; he had swept his arm across them, and now they flew from his sight and clinked to the ebony tiles, rolling under assorted furnishings or landing on thick rugs. Blinking once, he brought his arm back under his robe quickly, for he was not one to fight so physically. A slip.

From his sleeve that he jerked irritably, the needles slid against his wrist and he held them in his fingers, brushing his fingertip across the fine point. Starting from his left, he gently placed one, two, three...continuing until they were spaced evenly, eight of them.

_But I just had to know..._

_No one hit with these has lived. _

_They look like nothing, but that is just an illusion. Illusions are beautiful things, yet I can see through them. Just like you, Sasuke. On the surface you seem to share my qualities, but you do not..._

Eyes sweeping his twisted picture he had created, he closed his eyes.

_And that is the reason you will **not** fall, little brother. _

_Tomorrow night._

* * *

"Damn." 

That was all the avenger had to say as it all become so clear: The ground, soaked with dew beneath him, large twisting tree roots leaving kinks in his back that would probably never come out. The faint scent of a fire burning for a long while, down to the very ashes. Dazzling sunlight set his head pounding ruthlessly, making him clutch it and whine in spite of himself; like he'd been beaten about the head and shoulders for hours. And something, something terribly warm but annoying was clinging to his arm...something that had it's own heartbeat and smelled like liquor and, faintly, cherries. The something moaned in her own pain.

But now something was touching his chest; like tiny little vines exploring, as if they didn't know what a human body was or what it was meant to be. They tugged softly, and with it came a lilting babble of syllables that had no meaning.

Annoyed, Sasuke tried to move his arm, but the something was latched tightly and still in a deep sleep, so, bringing his other arm up, he poked the thing on his chest. It was another chest. A small one, but nevertheless another human being that was sitting on him.

As he opened his eyes a slit against the positively burning morning rays; he groaned in pain again as his head throbbed and sent a wave of nausea through his stomach; an undefined shape slowly came into focus. Seeing him awaken, the thing clapped it's hands in delight and babbled some more, touching his chapped lips with eager fingers.

"Stop it," he muttered darkly, slapping them away.

"Shut up," Sakura muttered; she was the person clinging to his arm for dear life. " Iss early 'n you're loud," she mumbled, pressing her face into his chest.

"Stop touching me!" he snapped, grabbing the little hand that had been smacking his forehead in his large, calloused one. It was so tiny, and he released his grip immediately for fear of injuring it.

Sighing, he ripped his eyelids apart, blinked several times in quick succession to adjust to the light but when he saw what was sitting on his chest he closed them.

"...No..."

"No what?" Sakura demanded, clearly testy as she raised her tousled head and glared at him.

"I'm fucking dreaming."

"I don' think you are," Sakura replied, rubbing her eyes and yawning, obviously not noticing the thing on his chest.

"Yes, it's some sick dream. Hangover. I'm going back to sleep."

The thing on his chest clapped it's hands together again and babbled in it's unique talk, happy with the world. Sakura turned to look at it and jerked, eyes wide and bloodshot.

"Um...I really don't think you are–"

"Please tell me I am," Sasuke whined, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes, watching the swirling colors dance beneath his eyelids and pretending he couldn't hear the little child's sounds of incoherence and innocence as it sat on his chest.

Sakura was speechless. "But...but how? How did it _get _here?"

Sasuke's sarcasm was in full swing, and his hangover was not helping. "Better yet, I'm dead. Let's just say that. I'm dead."

* * *

If you skipped over the parts with Itachi you really shouldn't, 'cause it's telling you what's going to happen!

Credits:

"Blvd. Of Broken Dreams", Green Day

And "Man, I Feel Like A Woman", Shania Twain.

Grah, that was kinky. I couldn't resist. Blame this on my best friend. :P


	24. We, The Convoluted

Heh, no more humor for you. This chapter is long, but it had to be or it wouldn't have left off in the right place, thus I wouldn't be happy with it. It raises more questions, but you must be patient for the answers, ne? I'll give a little bit of a hint though...there's a reason that Sasuke's curse mark is still bothering him and/or becoming increasingly difficult to control. Although he has long surpassed Level 1 in the series, here he's been trying to keep it there and it's not working. Why? Well, you'll just have to wait and see.

And I luff Itachi.

Click the review button on the way out, please and thanks.

* * *

Chapter 24: We, The Convoluted

_I thought I had known everything,_

_And I've learned so much more._

_But here I am–_

_Uncovering secrets_

_That have shaken me to the core._

_It is unfathomable,_

_Insane,_

_And I never really thought_

_You were capable of all these things;_

_Therein lies why you fought._

_For to keep me far away from you,_

_Hide those terrors that made me cry;_

_To protect me from your own sick self,_

_You had to push and hurt and **lie**..._

"KNOCK IT _OFF_!"

The child was not perturbed nor upset by the avenger's reaction, not even surprised by his now livid face, contorted in severe annoyance that was usually only provoked by Naruto.Tightening his tiny fingers, he widened his innocent eyes and ruthlessly tugged on another lock of Sasuke's precious hair; he roared.

"Do you think that's _funny_?" he yelled, blinking away tears of pain, eyes dangerously narrowed as they followed the waving fist full of ebony locks. A pounding headache, lack of sleep and a sour stomach and a baby that was only amused by causing him more pain; what a _great_ morning this was turning out to be. Adding to the sleepless night and pathetic condition of most of them, they now had

_children. Unable to care for themselves. And of course, I have one that loves–_

"STOP!" Sasuke roared, holding the baby at arms length as his upper lip began to twitch violently; whether out of annoyance or exhaustion it was not certain; nevertheless, the child had acquired more hair for his collection.

"Ugh. Saku–"

"Busy!" she snapped, patting a retching Ino on the back as the blonde emptied her stomach into a bucket, rather loudly. Sounding so terrible, in fact, that Hinata was pressing her fingers over her lips as if to hold in her own vomit, eyes closed. Ino heaved as Sakura held her long hair away from her face, every now and then swallowing as if suppressing her own gag reflex. To distract herself from her own sickness, Sakura took a deep breath and called, "Shikamaru, how are you feeling?"

The only answer she received was a loud snore from a nearby tree. Pounding a fist into the dirt, she grinned in a strange, strained way, as though the skin over her jaw was pulled abnormally tight. "Guess you're fine," she snapped, forming each syllable with deliberation. "Okay, Naruto? Lee?"

"Fine, Sakura–chan," Lee answered, wincing as he held his ribs. Apparently a few were broken. Naruto grinned as he held two small children, one on each leg, and swayed back and forth, for they seemed to be content with him. They clapped and babbled, both sporting dark brown hair and chocolate eyes, with nearly the same face; identical. Which had been Ino's and which had been his, he was not sure at this time, but he was still searching for the little differences to later decipher their identity. And since Naruto was the one attempting to find these 'little differences'...

"I think this one has different shaped eyebrows. What do you think, Sasuke?" Naruto inquired jovially, grinning at the hunched form of Sasuke, who was holding the baby slightly above his head at arm's length to keep him away from his face. Sasuke glanced at Naruto, then glared at the child.

"I could care less."

"Geez, Sasuke. The child's going to adopt your surly attitude soon enough unless you be nice to him! It's not hard, see?" Naruto indicated the twins babbling and smiling, poking and prodding each other and fingering the metal clasp of Naruto's headband. Sasuke snorted.

"It doesn't pull your hair like it does to me," the Uchiha replied, setting the barely year–old child on the dirt to fend for itself.

"Isn't it 'its'? There's two of them. And if he's giving you trouble, just discipline him," Naruto said, as though explaining that two plus two equaled four. "Heck, he probably wouldn't be bothering if you if you just smiled at him, instead of looking at him like he's some sort of creature."

One of the twins pulled hard on Naruto's headband, and the knot came undone.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, but he was laughing with the twins as they touched and tapped the new object with eager little fingers, feeling the soft material and giggling as the metal caught the overcast sunlight and shined in their eyes.

"We need to talk!" Sakura demanded, stomping away from Ino and gesturing to Hinata and Lee. Her mood was unpredictable, but seemed to be extremely foul. This was illustrated clearly when she strode up to the tree Shikamaru was sleeping in and pounded a chakra–infused fist into the trunk. The ground shook dangerously, catching Sasuke's attention, and after a moment or two, Shikamaru came tumbling to the ground, landing gracefully on his back. Sakura turned and quickly walked toward Naruto and Sasuke, Lee and Hinata on her heels as if they were dogs meant to heel.

"Coming," Shikamaru muttered, getting to his feet and shaking his head.

After waiting in tense silence for another moment as Ino took her seat, holding her stomach with bloodshot eyes, Sakura inhaled, jaw clenched as though praying for patience, then let it out slowly; she savored it for a moment before her eyes snapped open. Paralyzing each and every person with an intense gaze of extremely enraged jade.

"Okay. First of all–SASUKE, WATCH HIM!" she barked, seeing the child crawl off to touch what looked like a dead squirrel. Sasuke scowled at her and, without looking at the baby, leaned to his left to grab it's foot and drag it back within it's reach. Sakura hung her head.

"Anyway," she began, rubbing her temples, "Obviously, this contest is heading in a direction that is probably not what we expected. I, for one, highly doubt that we were meant to receive _children_, I mean, lives could be at stake!"

"And we were drunk!"

Sasuke winced as Sakura turned her deadly gaze on Naruto, who seemed slightly proud of his contribution.

"Yes, we were, but that's not really of the utmost importance right now. I think something has happened, either someone is wreaking havoc in Kohona...or...more likely, there are shinobi in _here_, trying to get us killed."

"Don't lighten it up at all, Sakura," Ino muttered, eyes closed as she tottered sideways.

"Okay, _fine,_ miss 'I've just about murdered my liver', there are shinobi in here, which means we are not as alone as we originally thought we would be!"

"So we need a plan?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring the twin that had wandered away from Naruto and was now tugging on his vest.

"Exactly," Sakura said flatly, eyes watching the dark–haired child crawl away from Sasuke yet again; the latter bit his lip and gave the baby a dirty look as he grabbed it by the ankle and dragged it back to him.

"You have any ideas, Sakura?" Lee inquired.

"Well, I do, somewhat."

The others waited in silence, and Shikamaru nodded curtly for her to continue.

"Today, we need to rest. It's the best thing. If we try to leave camp and end up lost or wandering around, we could be hurt in our condition. Most of us are exhausted, some are just _hung over_," Sakura said loudly, glaring at Ino and then, surprisingly, at Sasuke, who narrowed his eyes. Truthfully, they were _all_ hung over to some degree, and Sakura herself was more mentally exhausted than she would ever admit. "We need rest, and we need to figure out what do to about the children," she finished.

"W–we have to keep them with us," Hinata stuttered quietly, the most she had spoken since last night in which she had not been in her usual state of mind. "We really don't have a choice."

Sakura sighed heavily and yawned. "Yes, that's what I was thinking. Well, that's all we can work with for now. Tomorrow we'll have to scout around and see if there's a way out, or a way to contact the outside."

Ino opened her mouth–

"Yes, Ino, you can shower," Sakura said in a tired voice, waving her away. But Ino did not move, instead stood and folded her arms, looking a bit preoccupied.

"Well...I don't want to...go alone," she whined, eyes pleading Sakura to go with her. The medic–nin complied and stood, yawning once more and turning to the guys.

"Will you be able to handle watching them until we get back?"

Naruto magnificently rose to the occasion. "Of course, Sakura! I mean, look at us! We're...what's the word...capable! Yeah, we're capable!"

Sakura pursed her lips, folded her arms and surveyed the group of boys she was about to entrust three children to: Shikamaru was now lying on his back, staring at the gray sky as the child tugged on his silver earrings, babbling. The twin in Naruto's lap was whipping around the headband by grasping one end in his chubby fist and swinging it, narrowly missing Naruto's head. Sasuke was, once again, dragging the child back within his reach by the ankle, while the black–haired boy let himself be pulled, intent on stuffing a squirming beetle in his mouth.

Shaking her head, she strode up to Sasuke and picked up the baby, holding it on her curvaceous hip and glaring down at him."I can't trust _you_."

As much as Sasuke didn't want to deal with the annoying child, he stood up and faced her, square–on, folding his arms. "Just tell me what it eats and what to do when it cries, and you can take a shower in peace."

Sadly, Sakura was not touched by his slight generosity, and shook her head. "Fine." She handed the child to Sasuke, who was unsure how to pick it up; he settled on holding it off the ground by its arms. Turning on her heel, she began to walk away with the other girls, leaving Sasuke holding the baby, now by one arm.

"What do I do when it cries?"

Sakura stopped in her tracks, glaring at him over her shoulder fiercely as though she'd love to chew him up and spit him out. Practically snarling, she strode up to him and poked a finger in his chest, the end of her nose touching his.

"Stop calling him an 'it'! The baby is _male,_ and it is a child, so put somewhat of a smile on your face and just deal with it! When it cries, you hold him and rock him until he stops! It's not rocket science, Uchiha!" she spat, not only showering him with saliva, but he was surprised at his surname tumbling off her lips...he didn't like hearing it. It proved she was very ill–tempered. One last light shove, and she stalked off, the back of her neck as red as Sasuke's face; Naruto sidled up next to him with the brown–haired child in his arms.

"She sure told you."

"Shut up."

"Sasuke! The baby can hear, you know," Naruto chided. "Curb your tongue–ehh..."

Naruto's taunt trailed off as the avenger fixed him with a glare that seemed to charge the surrounding air with electricity...he knew what Sasuke would say back if he thought he could speak without losing his temper. _Curb your smart–ass tone, dobe. _Or he'd be smacked upside the head, 'twas simple as that. Naruto shrugged to cover his retreat and decided it obviously wasn't worth fighting.

Sakura was back in the clearing, now rummaging through her duffel bag to find her clothes and toiletries...she was still pink in the face, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance and the world around her, which was common when someone was not only hung over but fatigued. Her friends had the good sense to do as she ordered, no questions asked lest they be beaten or otherwise injured. But no, not Sasuke...he knew her temper and had endured it for a very long time, and he just _had_ to do it for no other reason than to rile her up.

"What do I feed it?" Sasuke asked quietly; he might have been a good eight feet away, but she had heard and she was livid, as shown when her eyes locked on his. That deadly primal glare that would eventually be the point of no return dare he test her temper once more.

"What do you think, Sasuke? After all, you are the one who offered to watch the child. You should have _some_ idea."

She straightened and folded her arms, a camisole in her hand, and she raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. Too late Sasuke realized he'd put himself in a corner, and Naruto and the other men came to his rescue...if you could call it that.

"Babies drink milk, Sakura–chan," Naruto said matter–of–factly. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and Lee leaned forward, intent on keeping Naruto from continuing.

"Erm, Naruto–"

"Brilliant," Sakura interjected, smirking slightly. "And _where_ do you suppose they get this milk from?"

Naruto seemed confused; the answer was clear to him, and being the slightly immature boy he was, was ready to blurt it out had Sasuke not elbowed him painfully in the side. Shikamaru and Lee remained silent, not offering any help to the two guys whom had clearly walked into an awkward situation.

"Um...your boo–OW! WHAT?" Naruto snarled, as his answer was cut off yet again but Sasuke elbowing him to prevent him from answering.

Then the lioness turned her hungry gaze on Sasuke, jade eyes stabbing him with knives as she twisted her lips into a smile she was trying to hide. "You must know, Sasuke. After all, you seem to keep interrupting poor Naruto every time he tries to answer. Go on, then."

Sasuke coughed, and then coughed again, trying to work up a plausible fit to distract her from the fact that _he_ didn't want to answer either.

"Come on, Sasuke," she pleaded innocently, folding her arms as though she were cold under her chest...and they all might have believed it too, if not for the fact that this action suddenly gave her a couple inches of glorious cleavage for him to try not to look at. His gaze flickered slightly, and he let the baby slip into a football carry at his hip.

Sasuke clenched his jaw tightly, the word dancing on the tip of his tongue just so he could mock her later, that he was able to say it. Unfortunately she was being terribly distracting, what with her amused smirk and the way she was swaying back and forth like a tree branch, waiting...still waiting...

"They're boobs, geez! Milk comes from boobs!" Naruto burst out, pointing at Sakura's chest very rudely; Sasuke did not look at her but roughly shoved his arm away, eyes flashing. The girl did not seem offended, however, and merely walked up to Naruto with a slight smile on her face.

"Very good, Naruto."

**SMACK.**

"Too bad I'm not **pregnant**."

Naruto stood contemplatingthis for a moment...aloud. "Ohhh...so milk comes from...and then the baby...and then it...and then–!"

"You really _are _brilliant, aren't you?_" _Ouch. Her spleen would be unleashed on anyone today; she turned on her heel, gathered her clothes in her arms, and slammed into Sasuke's shoulder as she walked away.

The other guys looked at him to see how he would take being told off yet again, but truthfully he was not paying attention to all that, no, he was just watching her walk away. Fingers curled into shaking fists, the back of her neck flushed as she quelled her temper by cursing under her breath...

...and he loved it.

* * *

Like heaven...

She didn't know it was coming, she didn't expect it at all.

The sound of running water from a distant, humble brook let her consciousness and awareness slip drastically as she let her exhausted limbs float, supported only by buoyancy. None of the girls spoke, each falling into their own little hovel of enjoyable things that, in the past weeks, had been nearly impossible to visit. It felt so terribly good, a positive to override the annoying negative...she felt so weak, and she could not stand feeling that way.

As if she were a person minuscule enough to walk around within herself she could see and feel...slowly, as the toxins were breaking down within organs and everything repaired itself with little help of chakra...thank goodness. Murmurs from far away that didn't mean anything as she simply relaxed in the semi–warm water...thoughts drifting to things she would never contemplate normally.

_Never let your guard down._

But she was too exhausted to rely or listen to her keen instincts.

_When a shinobi lets down his or her guard, that is when you strike._

She could have fallen asleep, there in that beautiful water, leaning her head back against the blades of grass that stroked her face teasingly...a familiar way that almost reminded her of...well...

She really _did_ like it when he touched her.

_A shinobi never displays emotion._

Black. It was all she could see.

The hand that was now taking over her face, suffocating her, crushing her nose and pressing her skull deep into the dirt. It reminded her of the night she had been caught in her tent, unable to breathe, thoughts racing through her mind like scurrying ants, and stupidly she tried to breathe in–

Unmistakably, the sickening stench of fresh blood washed over her like a thick blanket, asphyxiating and smothering as she felt the back of her head scrape across pebbles, scratching the back of her skull. So wrapped up in panic, she did not think to gather her air before the strong hand grasped harder, chuckling softly as she let out a frightened screech. Fingers pressing painfully on her eyelids to keep them from opening, the colors became her worst nightmares, sending her heartbeat into a dizzying, fast–paced dance as she brought her tired limbs out of the water. Latching on, hanging on to the arm that was holding her down, with only the rawest emotion and the very end of her strength, she thrashed–

"_Well is it **any wonder **we failed?" _

Sakura remembered that comment as if it had been painstakingly chipped on the inside of her skull by her Inner herself. So full of anger and hatred and so blatant that the whole room had stared at her to see how she would react, including the man from whom the comment had come. He might as well have just slapped her in the face for being a coward and been done with it.

Digging her nails into the muscular arm, she let out a high–pitched screech; her nose snapped, ringing in her ears and making her retch, although she had no time to panic. With a gasp, he took advantage of her pain to push her head off the bank of the river and force it beneath the surface.

Her attacker had let go, letting his calloused fingers glide off her now bloody face; jade eyes snapped open only to be flooded with water and the crimson flowing from her numb nose.

_Thump._

She couldn't think.

_Thump._

Couldn't breathe.

_Thump._

Couldn't scream.

Inner Sakura swam to the forefront of her mind and mentally kicked her as she floated, head spinning so badly she couldn't tell which way was up; something flitted past her elbow and she jerked, pulling out a kunai. Consumed by her own heartbeat, eyes darted this way and that for something, anything, to help her or tell her the bastard who had attacked her. Above her, shining through the surface was the overcast light of reality, of _air_, air that she desperately needed. Flailing and twisting her body upright, she thrust her hand in front of her and felt it break the surface, grabbing empty air...

Gasping, she dug her fingernails into the into the dirt and dragged her sopping self out, blearily looking up as a shadow fell over her, and she slipped, nose smashing into a pair of well–polished boots. So shined that her bloody, grotesque face scared herself as she stared at in horror.

One foot rose–

SLAM.

Sakura brought her arm around to slam the kunai into his calf and he did not expect it; payback for slamming his powerful foot on the back of her neck. It was only a miracle he had not snapped it. He stumbled slightly and she flew at him, tackling the ninja around the knees and taking him to the ground, yanking her weapon from his leg and jamming him in the thigh. His knee slammed into her ribs, knocking her senseless as she let out a strangled cry and slumped, clutching her torso and whimpering. This was pathetic. She wasn't this weak. Not normally.

Blinking blood from her eyes, she grasped the metal tool with two hands and slammed it into his chest, hearing sharp as an animal's as she listening to it penetrate; flesh and bone, sounding like a gong in her ears. But as she cleared her vision her heart froze mid–beat. He had disappeared–she ripped it out of the ground–

His hand slammed ruthlessly into the back of her skull, an abrupt sledgehammer, knocking her into the dust and onto her own weapon. She bit her lip to keep herself from screaming as her body collapsed on the kunai, _I'm so damn stupid, I'm making mistakes, _and struggled to pull it out from under her as it continued to sink through. Glutinous and burning crimson soaked her hands; she eventually rolled over, unable to breath, colors dancing in front of her eyes like fireflies, flashing in every direction. Struggling not to cry, but she so wanted to, she wished for help–

_But I don't need help. Pull. Yourself. Together._

With a roar of fury she whirled around, the bloodstained weapon clenched her shaking fist; eyes lit up as though a fire were toiling and crackling within. With difficulty she straightened to face him, for he had waited, stupidly giving her a chance...but she froze yet again at the sight of his face.

The ANBU mask stared blankly back at her, his posture giving no indication of his motive. Sakura's normally lightening fast train of thought was sluggish: _I'm fighting...the ANBU? No. Of course not, our own ninja would never attack us._

_Don't hesitate–_

But she had, and he took advantage of this by attempting a powerful genjutsu that sent her head reeling again, as she felt him try to penetrate her mental defenses. Luckily her mind was working–

"Back off!" she spat, jerking her head irritably as though she had a tic. He reappeared behind her and before she could turn around–

SLAM.

Another blow to the back of the head sent her to her knees, breath caught in her throat along with a disgusting, thick gob of blood.

"LOOK AT ME AND FIGHT, COWARD!" she shrieked, breaking off and beginning to choke. Clutching at her stomach wound, she forced herself to swallow it and shook violently, chilled at the disgusting liquid seeping down the back of her neck, leaving her hair on end. She dug her nails into the kunai that was still in her hand, struggling to keep her breathing under control. There was not a trace of any chakra, healing or otherwise left for her to tap into to and use...she was too exhausted.

But she had to live.

_Fight every battle like your last. Live every day as if it were your last._

She had learned a few things..._you can let your prey come to you._

Faking a whimper, she stood, bent nearly double toward the ground, face contorted in what she hoped seemed like a person accepting defeat. Letting her grip slip a bit, she swayed a bit, waiting–

Her ears heard him as he advanced on her, every responsive hair standing straight up as she waited...letting him come closer, leaving her back turned on him to let him believe–

At the very last second she squeezed her fingers around the weapon so tightly it hurt, glared at him over her shoulder, and slashed–

She gritted her teeth; his jugular was torn as the metal dug across his neck, mutilating, stealing his last breath and splattering her with a layer of yet more blood in addition to her own. The force knocked him sideways, and she fixed the man with one narrowed, fierce eye as he crumpled to the dirt, his weapon falling from his limp fingers. Limping slowly to his dying corpse, she continued to glare savagely down at him, and brought her foot up over his face.

"At least I don't attack you from behind, sick bastard."

With a look of vindictive, almost insane fury, she slammed her sandaled foot upon his mask, nearly smiling at the sound of the shatter that echoed in her ears.

"SAKURA!" Ino screamed, grabbing her shoulders; Sakura threw her head back and cried out in pain, knees buckling. Ino lowered her to the ground, stunned, dragging her toward the water. Hinata was climbing out, eyes wide as saucers, and she seemed shaken to the core. "Help me, will ya?"

Hinata hurried forward and helped Ino set Sakura by the riverbank; the pink–haired girl whimpered and held her arms around her chest, breaths shallow and quick like a rabbit's. Ino seemed torn on what to do first. Sakura gestured to her nose, for blood was dripping down her throat and she was coughing it up, sending drops on their faces.

Ino nodded quickly and placed her fingers on Sakura's nose, gently, trying to keep her own panic under control as she concentrated...Sakura shoved her hand away when it was healed, unable to slow her breathing or heartbeat down as she shook.

"He was going to kill you," Ino said in an abnormally high–pitched voice, cupping her hand as she lowered it into the river and splashed Sakura's face, trying to clean away the blood from her eyes and nose. Hinata hesitated, then parted the medic's hair in the back and let out a squeak that almost certainly indicated a lack of good news. As the air penetrated the wound in her skull, a wave of dizziness made her limbs collapse, unable to function, and tears stung, burning in her eyes.

"I'm...fine..."

"I think you got a concussion," Ino said, ignoring her protests and wincing.

"I'm fine."

"He hit you so hard!"

"I–AM–FINE!" Sakura shrieked, elbowing Hinata and Ino away and hugging herself, still shaking furiously in anger and in pain.

"Don't touch me don't touch me," she muttered, trying to make herself as small as possible, as if collapsing from the inside, Ino reached for her anyway and might have received a signature slap from Sakura. If the girl's limbs had not been vibrating so violently, she might have tried. Sakura knew she was acting selfish, but she held her head and tried to ignore the pounding, saying "Don't tell him."

Neither girl needed to ask who she was referring, but they exchanged a nervous look with each other.

"I mean it."

"Why not, Sakura?" Ino asked quietly, distressed that her friend was acting this way.

"Please, Ino, think how he'll react! The last thing I need is him to start going on a rampage." _And telling me how stupid I was, how weak I was. _That was the real reason she did not want to say anything: She couldn't handle him looking down on her, pitying her, fighting for _her_. It was the whole point of being older and becoming so much stronger, so her teammates and friends could stop putting their lives on the line for her. She would defend herself, to make up for every time she'd sat, useless, every time she'd screamed a name and someone else had stepped in, defied Fate and perhaps cheated Death itself.

Ino and Hinata both tried to help her stand, but she shook her head furiously and quelled a whimper in her throat as she struggled to her feet, alone. Alone and tall, raising her head to pretend it didn't hurt, that she couldn't feel the throbbing, the stinging wound in her side, any of it...she would ignore it, she would pretend it was just another thing.

But she couldn't deny...that she was scared out of her mind.

"It was my fault," Sakura murmured, falling to her knees at the riverbank, staring at her shimmering, bloodstained reflection in the water. "I made a mistake."

"Sakura, it could have happened to anyone," Ino reassured, but recoiled as her friend slammed her hand into the water and snapped.

"I AM NOT WEAK!" she screamed, gripping the edges of the bank and suddenly hating her reflection. "I made a mistake and I don't need anybody to pity me!" She was so afraid of what he would say if he knew...

"Sakura–"

"Can you heal this?" Sakura asked, indicating the wound on her side from her kunai. Ino hesitated, then nodded.

"But I think your head–"

"My head's fine!" Sakura snapped, although as the words left her lips her head throbbed and a wave of dizziness swept over her. "Please, just..."

Ino sighed but complied, Hinata splashing water on the wound every so often; crimson rivets ran down her stomach, and Ino became a bit worn after healing it halfway, for she was not used to using chakra for more than minor cuts. After a few minutes, Ino leaned back with an extremely sorrowful gaze, and she voiced what was obvious on her face. "I'm sorry...that's about all I can do for now."

"It's fine," Sakura repeated for what seemed like the nth time, checking her reflection in the calm water. She knew she couldn't avoid him forever. With a heavy sigh, she got to her feet; both of her companions saw her sway slightly out of dizziness, and exchanged another look.

He would know the minute he laid eyes on her.

* * *

Sasuke stiffened.

The silence that had fallen upon them was not usual; it was the awkward silence, foreshadowing terrible confusion and only broken by the quiet babble of the children. That even now was fading, syllables trailing off to feel and hear the strangeness too. Eyes narrowed, the keen instinct of the shinobi came as a shock to Naruto and the dark–haired child, both of whom jumped as his fingers wrapped around their wrists. Stupid pain; like an alarm bell, impossible to ignore.

"What is it?"

Naruto struggled to listen, to search by sense of hearing past the rustles of the foliage and the bubbling of the brook where the girls were. Precisely the problem. Sasuke didn't _know_ what, he didn't know why he felt so uneasy, but he let go of their wrists and stood, raising his head to stare. They were coming back.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, but Sasuke ignored him as he took a few steps forward and remained motionless, the gentle breeze teasing his ebony locks.

And he locked his gaze on Sakura's as she walked around the bush, effectively startling her and the rest of the girls as they halted their footsteps. Naruto came forward, a child in each arm and a quizzical expression upon his boyish features. Ino and Hinata both walked into Sakura as she froze, quickly hitching an annoyed sneer on her face as she straightened the towel that was wrapped around her head.

"Something wrong, Sasuke? Handling the baby not going as well as you–"

He interrupted her, roughly grabbing her wrist and dragging her toward him. Confusion was apparent in every shinobi's face as they struggled to understand what Sasuke was so terribly angry about. With her free hand, Sakura quickly straightened the towel and slowly met his eyes; his upper lip curled in suspicion as he held her seemingly normal hand in his, an unrecognizable look of anger shadowing his face. Insides withering, she gulped. _How does he know?_

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" Naruto demanded, glaring at his friend and handing off the children to Lee.

"S–Sasuke–EEP!" Hinata recoiled in fright as the dangerously silent ninja glanced at her, eyes frighteningly bloody. As she hid her eyes, Naruto stomped forward and grabbed him by the shoulder, eyes narrowed and flashing.

"What is your problem, Sasuke?" he said loudly.

The entire group gasped as the blonde staggered back, holding his jaw that was now hanging a bit loosely. Hinata squeaked like an animal that had been stepped on, slapping a hand over her mouth while Sakura turned red in the face. Naruto took a deep breath, straightened, and cracked his jaw, raising his cerulean eyes to not the man that had struck him, but Sakura. They locked eyes. And Naruto could see it in her eyes too, barely there...her fright.

"Sakura...did something happen?"

She felt her insides twist and writhe as every eye watched her; gaze darting, breathing heavy as the flush crept up her neck and the pain in her head seemed to increase tenfold. The pounding and pulsing, the nearly invisible traces of blood on her hands, the shaking hands she tried to hide, but Sasuke grabbed them and stared at them intently once more.

And then he rose his head.

He didn't need Sharingan to look at her in that moment...and see the emotion in her eyes. Why did he always do this? Strip her down, layer by layer, and keep penetrating her until she was nothing but a scared little girl, easily walked on and frightened. It sent her head reeling, just him glaring not at her, not through her, but _into_ her, into everything she was and everything that had just happened, all that she was keeping back.

"What. Happened?"

She knew that when spoke in those staccato, accent–sprinkled sentences, he was close to losing his temper, and she would give anything not to test it, but he knew. How, she had no clue, but he was going to make her tell him. They were all staring at her, it must have been that obvious, and Ino, normally running her big mouth and improvising a defensive argument, did not utter so much as a breath. Sakura would 'thank' her later for being such a big help; for right now, Sasuke's nails were digging into her flesh, his eyes still pulling her apart like a blossomed flower. Right down to the little figure cowering in fear of his...anger? Protectiveness? Frequent unstable insanity? She couldn't really tell at this point.

In a second, the sound of his hands slapping her shoulders as he painfully gripped them, shaking as he held her mere inches from his face.

"Tell me," he hissed in a voice barely above a whisper. His mouth did not open, his lips jerked awkwardly as he spoke the syllables over gritted teeth. Her eyes narrowed, she took a deep breath, she wanted a fight that she wasn't willing to start.

"OW!"

He had her head in an insanely tight grip, sending waves of pain through her entire body and finally, she cried out; Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him back as Ino and Hinata each grabbed onto Sakura, but the tugging was useless. Not when he lost his temper like this, and Sakura was just waiting for the yells, the insults, all those things he had said before and would say again...

Abruptly, he let go, shaking as badly as she as his hand hovered near his shoulder, where the pain was washing over his side in torrents. It had not taken over his body completely yet, but it came back this happened, or, even worse, when _he_ was near. Sakura relaxed– a big mistake.

Naruto threw an arm around Sasuke's neck and dragged him backward as the avengers hand passed Sakura's face, but there was no slap or contact; no, when he was forced to stumble back, he held the towel in his shaking fingers, and now his eyes were drawn to her. Completely, traveling over all those little marks that told him she was lying, and that somebody was going die at his hands. Sakura stared at him, putting a shaking hand over the side of her face, where the crimson rivets flowed from underneath her pink locks. Clumps of hair were soaked with it, stuck to her scalp and her ashen visage; abruptly her knees locked and Sasuke shoved Naruto back again, straining to get at her before she fell. Luckily, Ino and Hinata were holding her now lifeless body upright.

"Calm _down_!" Naruto roared, locking his arms around Sasuke's chest and still holding him back. He glanced at the convoluting black marks, now inflamed and spreading slowly over Sasuke's right shoulder, and he remembered how difficult the curse was to contain, especially for him. He hesitated, then, carefully, loosened his grip and backed away.

"Let her go," Naruto ordered firmly, while Ino and Hinata also paused before gently lowering Sakura's violently convulsing form to the ground. The medic remained on hands and knees, fingers deathly pale as they clutched the ground as if she were falling; Sasuke dropped to his knees, still silent, then took her head again. She whimpered, biting her lip as he pulled her closer, closer, until his lips were against her forehead, and he stared out over her, shoulders rising and falling heavily with every breath.

"Who...did...this?"

"I don' know," Sakura muttered, still shaking. Her voice was meek, frightened, and on the verge of tears.

"What did he look like?" Sasuke hissed, warm lips brushing against her bloody forehead.

"He...he..."

"Tell me!"

"I broke his mask," she whispered, trying to tug herself out of his tight grip. "It was an ANBU mask–"

"Fuck, they've gotten the ANBU–"

"_Who_ have gotten the ANBU?" Sakura inquired, voice a bit stronger, littered with confusion. She stared intently, trying to understand why he was slowly losing the color in his face, or why he was suddenly favoring his left side or why his eyes were not blazing Sharingan, instead resolutely cold and black. Why his eyes, staring at her as though he were slightly frightened, were holding that unusual look that she had only seen a couple times before, out of all the years they had been together...

As though the wind had been knocked out of her, a breath caught in her throat.

"Sasuke, I don't think it had anything to do with–"

"Yes. It did." He let go of her to roughly squeeze his flaming shoulder. "Because the damn thing reacts to me...and what I feel. The reason I wanted to kill all the worthless emotion in my heart in the first place. I'm sick of this thing, I'm sick of waiting, I'm sick of _him_, walking around, breathing in the air he doesn't **deserve**!" Sasuke roared, closing his eyes, putting his hand against her face; it was freezing.

"But _Orochimaru_ is the one that gave you that mark, Sasuke," Sakura told him, gently putting her hand over his as he cradled her head desperately, as though she were about to be swallowed through the ground and leave him forever.

"Fear," he spat, hating the word as it left his mouth. Sakura knew. The only person that instilled him with this much fear. Ever.

Sakura seethed as her head throbbed again and her equilibrium stalled; the ground seemed to tilt and swim in and out of focus as she swayed, but she landed in Sasuke's arms. His shakes were subsiding, but hers were becoming worse by the minute as she shivered like a wavering twig in the chilled wind.

"You shouldn't have gone alone," he muttered, feeling the blood from her head against his shirt, his arms, his face, and her wild heartbeat. Echoing painfully against _his_ chest. "Why?"

"Stop blaming yourself," she snapped, wrapping her fingers around his shirt and pulling, lower lip trembling. Her eyes were no more than jade slits.

"You shouldn't try to _do_ so much," he retorted angrily, very aware that this wasn't the subject of the argument, but he didn't care. Maybe if she just let people help her once in a while, and stopped ordering people around and acting like she knew best...maybe if she just let him help her...so he wouldn't be forced to help himself.

Sakura squeezed him tighter and seemed to stiffen in offense. From the words that left her lips, it was clear how angry she was at him.

"When we were younger...you always said I never did anything. Now, you're telling me I do too much. God, Sasuke...what do you_ want_ from me? Am I _ever_ going to be able to make you happy?"

And even though her words cut deeper than he would ever say, he refused to reply, instead waiting until she had passed out, slumping lifelessly in his arms. Letting her bleed and cry silently in unconsciousness, and all he could do was hold her against his chest, letting her shaking body shake _him_, as though trying to instill some sense into the man.

"_Am I **ever** going to be able to make you happy?"_

_No, Sakura. You won't, _he told her silently, ignoring the tugging, the quiet demands to let her go. They spoke around him and to him; he was stony, unresponsive. _Stop trying. You cannot make me happy, nothing ever will. I wasn't meant to be happy, and nothing I do will ever make me deserve it. _

_I don't deserve it._

"She'll be fine, Sasuke. She should wake up really soon."

He didn't reply. He couldn't.

She _always_ got hurt when she was around him. He was definitely cursed.

It made him as bad as _him_.

"For all that is delicious and ramen, Sasuke, stop it!" Naruto snapped, fed up with Sasuke's brooding and angsty persona, which he had remained in for the past few hours, staring out at the sky. Naruto's pathetic attempt at humor was not appreciated by the avenger, and after another annoyed huff, Naruto took a seat next to his friend, opening his mouth-

"Why is she like that?"

Naruto's words trailed off as Sasuke ruthlessly cut him off in voice and in demeanor; the latter narrowed his eyes at the sky and clenched his jaw. Naruto did not understand.

"Like what?" he asked, genuinely confused.

A frigid breeze seemed to descend upon them accompanied by dangerous silence, which was only broken by the babble of the brown–haired twins, who were clapping their hands together. A few feet away, quiet and fascinated by a crawling ant, was the dark–haired baby. He raised his head and stared at Sasuke, who stared through him. Nonexistent in his dark eyes.

Naruto tentatively asked, "You mean, how she's always helping everybody and pushing herself and stuff?"

Curtly nodding, Sasuke confirmed this.

"Well...part of it is...well, a lot of it is because of you. She wasn't allowed to help you when she really wanted to, and since then she's done everything she could to make sure that if it happened again...she could make a difference."

"She can't. Why does she try? Why does she _do_ this to me?" Sasuke demanded of his friend, gaze narrowed in passionate anger. "I don't deserve all the things she does for me. I don't want her to–"

"That's not true," Naruto interjected in a strangely quiet voice.

"Yes, it is. I've never done a damn thing for her, and I don't want her to keep doing things for me."

"Sasuke, you don't realize it, but you _do_ help her...starting with leaving in the first place, so she could realize she had more potential than she wanted to strive for. And after that...she learned to toughen up, and stop taking everything you said so personally."

Sasuke was silent. _Her constant defensive, thick–skinned attitude. Annoying. Yet..._

"She grew a lot while you were gone. She'd do anything to help you. Even after you hurt her so many times. If that's not devotion, I don't know what is."

"It's stupidity," Sasuke snapped.

"Is it really so stupid that she cares so much?" Naruto snapped angrily.

"It is. Because one day..." he trailed off, beginning to shake in ire and fatigue.

Naruto watched him, gaze softening a bit as he saw Sasuke's jaw unclench, his eyebrows relax, his eyes glaze a bit as he thought. As he begrudgingly admitted what he would never say to Sakura's face, or anyone else.

"Because one day...I won't be able to save her. I'll do something or let something happen that I cannot fix. And...that something...I'll...really regret."

Solemn, the blonde paused, then tightly clasped Sasuke's shoulder, staring at the ground while the dark–haired shinobi glared furiously at the dirt. In his eyes he did not see the progress of the insect crawling across the ground, nor did he see that the dark–haired child crawl up to him and place his tiny fingers on Sasuke's sandaled feet. Only when the baby tugged on a lock of his hair did he look up and focus on him intently, silent. Demanding him to pay attention.

The child tilted its head, as if asking what was wrong with him. Naruto scooped the child up and held him high and a cascade of giggles gurgled in his throat as he grinned, not a youthful grin of innocence. A distinct smirk that made Naruto set the child down in front of him, peer, and then look at Sasuke.

"You know, Sasuke," Naruto began, brushing the messy hair out of the child's face and grinning cheekily, "He looks a lot like you."

Piqued, Sasuke looked at the baby with an impassive gaze and could sort of see the dark eyes and hairstyle, but also his demeanor and almost mirrored smirk. Handsome and aware of it, the child peered back at Sasuke from underneath his curtain of dark locks and fixed him with a smirk. Slightly annoyed at being shown attitude from a baby, Sasuke smirked back in spite of himself.

His expression fell slightly.

Naruto took his hand off Sasuke's shoulder and pointed at Lee and Shikmaru; they were both engaged in a furious but humorous game of poker, and now the twins were both crawling over to see what the mischief was about. Sasuke asked Naruto a silent question, and Naruto lowered his hand.

"...I've already forgiven you, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded.

"There's nothing you could do,_ I _don't think, that could make her hate you."

Sasuke nodded again, but couldn't help smirking down at the child that was now latching onto his hair again. _Annoying thing, just like her._

"Well," Sasuke said, standing up and carrying the child with him, with a tone of finality that ended the heart–to–heart conversation. "Guess I can't win that poker game from over here." Grinning, he turned his head to the child and asked him, "Do you think they're a match for me?"

The child tugged on his hair gently, as if reprimanding him in a way that Sakura would. But his devilish little grin was a challenge.

"Well _I _am," Naruto immediately proclaimed in his familiar I've–got–to–kick–Sasuke's–ass–just–because tone of voice. Oh, the masculine pride was too cute."I can beat you, believe it!"

The sound of his signature battle cry made Sasuke grin even wider and jerk his head toward the other two, who were already arguing over the rules. Luckily, these two–

Sasuke swore he heard the child snicker.

–No, these _three_ would show them how it was done.

* * *

"KURENAI!"

Anko stopped in her tracks and sighed heavily, so sick of hearing him yell her name, over and over again. She obviously was not answering, and besides, there were more important things to worry about than her own stupid, still–strong jealousy.

She raised her head to the sky; ebony, glittering, ominous silhouettes of birds still danced across the sky. It had been days, and they never ceased their unnerving circling and screeching as they kept the reminder fresh in their minds. That ANBU officers were disappearing, turning up as corpses in any given place, that people were still dying, that this compound, still holding captive the eight shinobi, was impenetrable.

At least, to them.

A frustrated groan, and Anko whirled around to wait as the shadow across the ground, a strangely familiar one, came around the rounded edge of the compound. It was Kurenai, hopping on one foot while struggling to put her sandal on. At the sight of Anko, she stopped and stepped gingerly onto the dirt, the blue shoe in her hand and an indifferent expression on her face. Anko spoke.

"You're not supposed to be out, are you?" she accused, correctly inferring that from Kurenai's flushed face, angry expression and the fact that she glanced over her shoulder more than twice, she wasn't.

"Go on, tell on me," Kurenai said lightly, picking her foot up again to put the blue sandal on. Straightening her bandages, she stood regally and smiled lopsidedly. "No progress, I take it?"

"What are you _doing _out here?" Anko demanded in an exasperated tone. "And no, none whatsoever. We can't get in there, and I shudder to think–"

She broke off at the sight of Kurenai's face, mouth open in surprise and gaze fixed on somewhere over her shoulder.

"What?"

Anko turned around and froze, still as a statue, and her eyes widened as the small procession of shinobi walked swiftly out of the nearby surrounding forest and around the rounded corner of the compound. Out of sight, Anko hissed, "Who are they?"

Stealthily, the two female jounin edged against the wall, Anko in the lead. As they came nearer, to the point where Anko could just barely see the small group of shinobi gathering near the wall, a seemingly random spot in the impenetrable fortress. Kurenai held her breath as Anko unnecessarily shushed her and listened carefully, an animal lying in wait.

"What exactly are we doing here, my Lord?"

Kurenai's eyes narrowed; she didn't recognize the voice; unfortunately, she was familiar with the man that answered and got an elbow in the side from her companion when she let out a gasp of horror.

"Find them. Prevent them from escaping. Do with them what you please. Let my brother be."

Kurenai bit her lip and slid to the ground, struggling to remain silent as Anko clenched her fist, furious, lowering her gaze to the ground. That Uchiha boy was in serious trouble, and clearly, Itachi was in charge of the Akatsuki...if there even was such an organization left.

"Amaterasu."

The emotionless voice was the only indication that anything had happened; normally a dramatic attack called for an equally dramatic battle cry. Kurenai's eyes were round as saucers as she poked her head out of the bush to witness the frightening, ebony black flames twisting and spreading so quickly, up the fence and burning through it. Like sizzling flesh the foliage grown over the wire fell in flaming pieces–

In seconds a streak had run up the side, to the top, and left the convoluting flames where it spread; it came closer to the bushes that the jounin were still frozen in, truthfully unsure of how to act.

With the jutsu came the terrifying atmosphere, the suffocating sensation that squeezes lungs and burns swirling depictions on eyelids and makes a person remember every little frightening thing of their lives. Sends your heart racing, mind reeling, regrets swim to the forefront of the conscious, barraging with accusations that usually only surface in the twilight moments of sleep. Rooted to whatever spot occupied by fear, the rawest epitome.

Like a head covered by a blanket, so the dancing flames of the powerful jutsu effectively shadowed the compound and the area around it, diminishing the vibrant colors of the setting sun. Surely it would be seen for miles, and send a rising tumult of panic throughout the entire city and surrounding villages...

Anko was about to rush forward when she halted, muscles tensed in place, shaking with an eagerness to attack. Kurenai continued to watch, a transfixed child, as they filed through the gaping opening caused by the powerful ninjutsu; marching in straight lines, the same long black cloaks similar to Itachi's, without the blood–red clouds. Each was wearing a unique and delicately painted ANBU mask, an ANBU mask of Kohona, excluding the man bringing up the rear and making sure they stayed in their formation. So far, none of the shinobi had moved their head left nor right, most likely on strict order, but surely one of them would–

It sent her insides writhing.

The blood–red eye was fixed on _her_. Only her.

Commanding his full, majestic attention, from none other than the Uchiha prodigy himself.

But it did not last long; as her body began to tremble in fear his eye, as though cued by a billiard stick, snapped to stare at Kurenai. He recognized her, somewhere in his confused mind, he remembered, but did not give acknowledgment to this fact. The red–eyed jounin was frozen, aside from the tiny muscles contracting around her eyes; she was ready with a genjutsu that she knew would never work against his superior eyes, but she was willing to try.

Tearing his gaze from her, he prowled within the confines of the compound, footsteps nonexistent, only the gentle brush of the cloak heard, a whisper.

"That Uchiha boy...he's in tro–What are you _doing?_," Anko hissed; Kurenai unsheathed a kunai and leapt out of the bush, sprinting to the opening, where the cloak had barely swished out of sight; Anko swore and tore after her, perhaps intent on not being shown up, or perhaps out of concern. Either way, she caught up in seconds and both women stood stock–still in the gaping hole caused by the fire. Fire that was still burning and crackling with such dangerous intensity that while they were nowhere near the flames that were eating away at the wire, it left the outermost layer of skin peeling.

"HEY!" They cried in unison, both raising weapons accusingly to point at Itachi's back–as he began to turn, however, both women screeched as they were unceremoniously tackled to the ground by children of waist–height and dragged into bushes on the other side.

Sputtering and swearing, the jounin found a group of Chuunin cloistered around them, wide–eyed and pale. Among them was Konohamaru and his teammates, all of whom seemed responsible for the ungraceful attack.

"What are _you_ all doing here?" Kurenai asked in surprise while Anko just grimaced.

"What are _you_ two doing, running in there like that?"

His tone was so accusatory, and as if they were children themselves Kurenai and Anko looked away from Kakashi's towering figure.

"We can't let them get to those kids," Anko snapped, recovering first as she stood and swept the dirt from her knees; Kurenai did the same. "They'll have no chance!"

"Are _we_ any better off?" Kakashi asked calmly, gently nudging the animal companion at his side; little, bow–legged Pakkun was frowning in the worry that the copy ninja refused to show. "I'm sending Pakkun in to find and warn them ahead of time. He will direct them to the area of the compound nearest the village and find a way to get them out there. ANBU Black Ops are being dispatched to each sector of the area as we speak."

"But what if they're caught?" Kurenai countered, immediately thinking of Hinata. Rumors abound were sadly true; they knew exactly what they were up against, yet this provided no advantage.

"They won't be," Kakashi reassured; the group of five or six Chuunin clambered awkwardly out of the bushes, and after a curt nod from Kakashi took off as one, toward the village. "We need to meet them on the other side of the compound and hopefully prevent Itachi and his followers from entering the town."

Kurenai and Anko both stood, silently fuming, for a very tense moment. While sickened at the thought of _agreeing_ with one another, neither moved.

"Don't act ridiculous. We are wasting valuable time."

His tone was clipped, firm, final.

Every hand sign was in perfect time as they disappeared, bound for the other end of the compound to hopefully prevent any deaths.

Although it might have been better to say, to save any they possibly could.

* * *

"Hn...what do you think?"

This question made Naruto raise his head, along with one of the twins, and eye the speaker and his companion suspiciously. Lee and Shikamaru and the other twin kept their heads down, though they shot furtive looks at Sasuke, who smirked slightly. The child mirrored his superior grin and pointed to a certain card, murmuring under his breath, for he was a quiet one.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and, with one hand, jerked the cards into a single pile and put them on the ground. "I fold."

Sighing, Lee mimicked the former and also set down his cards. The dark–haired child grinned broadly, a smile wholly Sasuke's.

"He's like a clone," Naruto grumbled.

"Or just a miniature," Shikamaru added.

"Well I'm not giving up!" Naruto exclaimed, while the child in his lap babbled and poked at random cards. He gave Sasuke a familiar 'I'm going to beat you no matter what' type of face while both dark–haired boys stared impassively back.

"Look who's up!" Ino said loudly, yawning and indicating Sakura, who was yawning a bit herself but seemed a bit more rested.

"Sakura–chan! You look better!" Naruto grinned after his statement, then proceeded to glare at Sasuke as he inclined his head to listen to the child–like babble that the baby whispered to him.

"I feel a bit better, and apparently, someone has warmed up to Sasuke," she said, gingerly sitting next to Sasuke and gently ruffling the baby's hair.

"He's fine."

Sakura giggled. "I was talking about _you _warming up to _him._"

Sasuke glanced at her, not completely comfortable with looking her in the eyes just yet. "Since when is his name Sasuke?"

Sakura put her arms around the baby's waist and lifted him out of Sasuke's lap. "Since you two are just so alike." Settling the child on her hip, she tickled his chin and smiled at the little familiar smirk on his face.

Sasuke tore his gaze from his cards and stared at her, making her smile fade. Sakura's movements became slow and deliberate as she stepped back, opening her mouth slightly as if to say something, but then she closed it. Biting her lip, she hitched the baby a bit higher on her hip and turned swiftly. Remembering the incident from just hours before was so painful, yet they could not ignore it.

Sasuke watched her go back into their, _his_, tent, and stared at the ground, lost in thought.

"UGH! You're so puzzling and secretive and it's driving me CRAZY!" Naruto raged, throwing his cards down and folding his arms. "I FOLD!"

Sasuke stood, brushing the dirt from his knees and an unrecognizable emotion sketched on his handsome face. He went into the tent without another word, and the others scrambled to view what they had lost to.

"The bastard had a royal flush!"

Sakura did not look up when Sasuke entered the tent, instead continued to cradle the messy head of the baby and rock him gently, murmuring softly in intelligible, lilting syllables. She kept her head down as he sat awkwardly and stared at his hands in an uncomfortable silence; the baby turned its head and fixed it's wide, ebony eyes on Sasuke, staring at the top of his lowered head.

"Are you okay?"

Sakura continued to stare at the blankets. "Yes. I had a minor concussion. Nothing fatal." _Of course, I didn't mention the blood loss and the stomach wound, but who needs to know all that?_

Sasuke knew she was downplaying her injuries but did not call her on it. "Hn." _Good._

Absentmindedly, she swept her fingertips across a fairly deep cut that began from underneath her hair and winced.

"Are you afraid that he is coming for you?" She asked quietly, tightening her grip on the baby's head.

Sasuke hesitated before speaking. "I just–"

"Why did you act that way?" she interjected. "Is there something you're not telling me? Something important?"

"I–"

"Sasuke."

She said his name quietly, seriously, concernedly, firmly. She wanted him to know he could tell her, that she would listen. That he could confide. Staring at him out of the corner of her eye, she waited.

"Why...were you so...so..._why?_" She could not bring herself to say it, for so many different questions were colliding with each other, eager to fall off her lips first. 'Why' summed it up better than all the little pieces, all the little clues.

_How are you able to hurt me out of protectiveness?_

_How are you able to make me cry when you were trying to stop the tears in the first place?_

_How can I love you when you do this to me?_

"I just..." Sasuke began, twisting his fingers around each other in agitation.

"Why?" she whimpered, and the child was still staring at him haughtily, as if he knew that Sasuke was reducing her to tears.

"Because I didn't want to lose–" Positively chomping on his tongue, his eyes stung in the air as the slippery, coppery taste caressed his taste buds. _You._ "I didn't want you to get hurt."

Sakura turned to face him completely, setting the child on the comforter and letting him attempt to crawl. "I'm...sorry."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in incredulity. "Hn?"

"I made a mistake...it could have cost me my life," she continued, gently toying with the baby's soft locks and avoiding Sasuke's eyes. "I can see why you were so upset."

Sasuke growled, annoyed that she was trying to blame herself, but as much as this bothered him, he could not find the courage to open his mouth and tell her this was not so. But he had to do something...to keep her from blaming her selfless, exhausted, kind self.

"Well, Sasuke needs to sleep...an early bedtime won't hurt him," she sighed, and Sasuke blanked out a bit before realizing she was referring to the baby and not him. Still not looking at him, she held the baby in front of her, letting it lean back on her arm and smiled down on it. The baby stared back, eyes wide and dark, reaching toward her with his little fingers spread far apart; she took his hand and kissed his forehead gently, then put her face near his and adopted a soft, lilting tone.

"Can Sasuke give me kiss goodnight?" she said in a simple, affectionate quality. The baby wrapped his fingers around her thumb and blinked once, expression becoming puzzled as an arm reached past him, cradling Sakura's head. So gently, conscious of her injuries.

Sakura seemed unaware of the arm and watched the child closely, now confused by his behavior. She tilted her head in concern and abruptly became aware of Sasuke's presence; for some reason, he was a great deal closer than he had been seconds before. Again her head was in a grip she could not break, but this was softer, much gentler, and felt so..._safe_...

As the base of his thumb brushed against a wound she jerked and shuddered, well, as much as she could have; her head was going nowhere in the relentless grip. Out of exhaustion and a quickly slipping stability, Sakura's grip on the child loosened; the baby rolled to the floor, perfectly content with squirming around on his stomach as she leaned into the caress. Just so warm and while painful, there was no fear...of anything.

For all he had ever done to her, she _should _have been frightened.

"Why?" he growled, abruptly digging his nails into her scalp, her skin, tugging on pink locks, ripping them from her head. Whimpering, she stared at his eyes, which were closed, but still desperately nuzzled his hand as though it were the only thing she had left.

"Why what?" she whispered, leaning forward precariously, still waiting for him to open his eyes, but no, eyelids remained firmly shut, the muscles contorted as though he were in pain.

"Why can you look at me...and understand?"

Sakura's steady breath was snatched from her throat, a child stolen from its cradle.

"Why can you look at me...and know what I mean, rather than what I say?"

His other arm roughly grabbed her upper arm and he dragged her body closer; she continued to stare, sitting with her legs folded underneath her. Fingers shaking from some unknown emotion softly dragged across her waist as they torturously snaked around, eventually latching on, as if someone was trying to take her away. He let out a breath; it sounded as though it had been held; and brought her closer, the hand on her face still clutching her head with force, with determination, with possessiveness.

"Why can't I stare at you and lie like I can to everyone else?" he asked, but his tone illustrated the pain. He knew why, and the truth was so hurtful to stomach. "Why can you look at me and make me feel like I am the smallest person on earth? Or on top of everything, the invincible person I have always wanted to be?"

"I–"

"You fill my head with _lies_, Sakura," he hissed, violently vibrating with passionate anger. "_Lies_."

"I would never lie to you, Sasuke," Sakura said in her own defense, but her voice was nothing more than a pathetic whimper. So infernally weak and flexible, so easy to step on.

"I know," he continued in a dangerously low voice, littered with hurt and raw emotion. Eyes still closed, his fingers tugged fiercely at her mesh shirt, running tips over the criss–crossed woven material as his arm locked around her, trapped her in. Into his hold, into him. Cradling her head, he pressed his thumb against her cheek and she jerked, for it was like being stabbed with the coldest needle without any warning. And how could he be this cold when he really felt so warm?

So hot it was cold, so cold it burned like heat.

It was hate, so passionate it was nothing but unconditional love, and love so deep, so twisted and eternal it was driven into abysses of the darkest hatred.

Fine lines.

With a strange sound, a growl, yet the most pathetic of moans, the avenger claimed her, pulling her body roughly up against him with his hand still clutching her head as though sorely tempted to rip it from her neck. His eyes were still closed but now his face, his handsome visage was burning, flushed and positively crackling with electricity as he placed his forehead against hers.

"Why?" he repeated, nails catching on her shirt, speaking against her skin.

Slowly, Sakura placed her hand on his face, wanting him to look up at her. He did not. Tenderly her fingers trailed down his face, down the protruding jawline, clenched in pain, and down his neck, burning to feel and to her touch...he jerked and growled again as she ran the soft pads of her fingers over the slightly protruding mark on his shoulder. He hated this thing. Such a little thing that no one could see, combined with all the guilt and all of the pain that never seemed to leave, ever. It could be masked, sure, but it was and would always be there.

She embraced him in the tightest fashion, clutching the back of his shirt and nuzzling his face gently, biting her lip so hard that she could taste blood. Although he was sitting on his legs as well, he tightened his thighs around her as she rested in his lap, somehow able to be a little bit closer, grasping her a little bit tighter.

Abruptly he cried out, shuddering against her and shaking her furiously. "Don't make me feel this way. Don't give me this."

"Give you what?" Sakura whispered frantically, still staring at him as they leaned against each other, nose to nose, breathing quick and shallow.

"I don't deserve...this," he whispered in guttural reply, and the desolate ghost of a sarcastic smirk gave it all away. He wanted her so badly...he _didn't_ want her. She made him feel so important, so needed and invincible and hot and cold and everything that he wanted but wouldn't accept, wouldn't take.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

He opened his eyes–

A breath held, stolen–

_Oh, I've got you. _

He captured her lips in a kiss that was anything but gentle.

He could taste the coppery blood on her lips, shed for his worthless sake. Answering her simple request with all the regrets he could possibly have and even more.

"SAKURA–CHAN!"

It had lasted mere seconds, halves of seconds, infinitesimal pieces of seconds, and as Naruto's ashen face appeared in the opening, along with a wide–eyed puppy and an unusually stern Shikamaru, Sasuke stiffened. Sakura held his head close and his shaking, angry hand was still holding _her _head in a tight grip. If Naruto had not sounded so shocked and upset, she would have ignored him.

This burning–

She just wanted _more_.

Slowly, agonizingly as her entire body shuddered with pleasure, he dragged his teeth across her lower lip, pulling it, hanging on just a little more for a taste. And when his teeth left her bruised lip, she whimpered.

Naruto stared, openmouthed and rigid at the sight in front of him out of shock, while Shikamaru remained motionless, clearly torn.

"We don't have time for this!" The dog raged, trotting past the frozen gazes of the shinobi and glaring at Sakura and Sasuke, who were gently untangling themselves from each other and avoiding eye contact. Shikamaru recovered and stooped in, picking up random clothes, kunai and toiletries and shoving them haphazardly into a bag, while Naruto blinked.

"W–what's g–going on?" Sakura stammered; embarrassed, numb, burning and with a sluggish mind she struggled to comprehend...there was no time to discuss what had just happened. It would have to just...wait.

It made no sense.

Such terrible timing.

"You are all in danger. We need to pack and head to the west end of the compound as soon as possible," Pakkun barked, glaring at Sasuke, who was not responding. Shikamaru could see no one was taking charge, and in annoyance handed the dark–haired to Sakura and left the tent with the bags and pillows.

"Why?" Sakura demanded, glancing at Sasuke edgily; he wasn't moving. "What? Does this mean we're leaving?"

"We're not only leaving, we're running for our lives," Pakkun said sternly, still giving the avenger a disapproving look; he was frozen, his only movements slow and jerky, running shaking fingers over his lips as though amazed they were his own. There was something wrong with him, Sakura knew, for the Sasuke she cared about, even if he had done something like this, would not be in such shock.

"Is Kakashi–sensei alright?" Sakura demanded.

"He's fine, he's just worried about all of you. Let's go! They're all waiting for you!"

"Why couldn't they have come in here and gotten us if everything was this dangerous?" Sakura continued, wanting answers that she was not getting from the dog.

Pakkun sighed in exasperation and trotted toward the tent opening. "Because they can't get in."

"Then how the hell do you expect _us_ to get _out?_" Sakura shrieked, furious at the stupid animal that was evading her questions.

"GET MOVING!" he roared, sticking his nose in the air and walking out, throwing one last dirty look at Sasuke, who seemed to have recovered... somewhat. Regaining his easy composure, he gathered up the few things Shikamaru had missed, took Sakura roughly by the elbow without looking at her, and dragged her and the baby out the opening.

The others were already packed and waiting; the tents had been left up. They had no time. Hinata seemed stricken, hand over her mouth as though she wanted to say something, and there was no doubt that everyone was staring at Sasuke.

"Have you wasted enough time?" Pakkun demanded, eyeing the couple with annoyance and apprehension. Turning on them again, he jerked his small head in the direction they all assumed to be west. They all eyed him warily, for unlike Kakashi, his temper was shown and experienced quite often; Shikamaru glared at the annoying animal, having remembered his first encounter with the strange canine.

"GO!"

They all cowered as though shot, then left the ground as one, each occupying a different path, different trees. Naruto eyed Sasuke warily, as though expecting him to lose his temper for some reason, but the dark–haired shinobi was hopping branches swiftly, eyes shadowed, lost in thought, while Sakura followed close behind him with the child in her arms. Pakkun led the way, also silent and unnaturally cautious as he leapt from limb to limb, while Ino and Shikamaru carried the brown–haired twins, who apparently convinced this was some sort of fun game. The child in Sakura's arms whimpered and pressed his face into her breast, eyes swimming with tears, as though something were about to go wrong, something was upsetting him.

"So what the hell is going on?" Sakura yelled to Pakkun, only a couple branches behind.

"My orders were to get all of you out before we are found and bring you to the side of the compound that is near the middle of the village," he rattled off, slightly out of breath; he was a small dog.

"And we are being chased by...who?"

"Yeah! Why _are_ we running?" Naruto demanded, hopping in time with Sakura, glancing at the back of Sasuke's neck; it was unusually red. "Why can't we fight them?"

Pakkun was silent. A strange, awkward silence that made Sasuke stop on a branch and lean against the thick trunk, beginning to shake. Sakura skidded to a halt on the wide limb and stared at him as he lowered his head, still vibrating violently...

And his hand made its way to his bright red neck...

"Sasuke!" She reached for him–

He slapped her ruthlessly away, and Naruto caught her and steadied her before asking, "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know," she muttered quietly, refusing to move. "PAAKUUN!"

All them stopped on the branch they had landed on, turning to see Sakura, her chest swelling with air as she held the child tighter and screamed,"TELL ME WHO'S COMING!"

Silence. Every gaze was waiting, praying, wanting the truth.

"TELL ME!" she repeated, voice cracking. She knew. Why had she asked? She looked at Sasuke, who was still shaking and now clutching at his shoulder again, the muscles in his toned back tensing unnaturally as though...

"Uchiha Itachi."

Hinata glanced at Sasuke and squeaked, masking everyone's gasp of horror; Sakura shook her head, as though it could wash away the truth and make it nonexistent.

Sasuke abruptly leapt from the branch to the ground, and Sakura ran out to the edge of the limb, swaying, to make sure he landed safely on his feet, and he did if only just barely. Then he fell to his knees, and eventually crumpled in a shaking heap.

All of them jumped to the ground, running toward him, but he rose his head to the sky with his eyes closed and let out a frightening scream. "STOP!"

Sakura skidded to a stop again, and now the shinobi surrounded him.

"We're wasting time–"

"Shut up!" Sakura snapped viciously, sorely tempted to drop–kick the canine to Sand Country and back. "Sasuke, are you okay?"

"He won't leave me alone!" Sasuke roared, oblivious to what was going on around him as he rocked back and forth.

"Who?"

And there they were: The twisted, convoluting black marks that ran across his skin like an ominous shadow, the thing he could not control, not anymore. He had been trying so hard to quell it, to keep it far away, but now it was coming back and there was no stopping the uncontrollable stirring that livid inside him. It never seemed to end...his entire face was covered, and it burned so fiercely the bandages around his arms melted away to pieces on the ground.

Sasuke unsheathed a kunai and rose it above his head, and Sakura went rigid. What was wrong with him?

_You are not acting normal, Sasuke._

"Put that down, Sasuke," she said slowly, taking a step forward–

His Sharingan eye came as a ruthless shock, and as her ankle hit the ground she felt it twist and she fell, gritting her teeth. Naruto began to ran forward but the bloody eye snapped to watch him, rooting him to the spot out of shock.

"Even when you're dead you're still in my way!" Sasuke roared, swiftly bringing down the knife–

"DON'T!" Sakura shrieked–

**SQUELCH.**

Again, Hinata's screech was heard above the gasps of horror, and Naruto was shaking also, with anger: "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM, SASUKE?"

Sakura stared in disbelief at the kunai protruding from his shoulder that was already sunken halfway into the skin; now her mouth opened slightly as he dug, pushing it further until he felt it scrape ivory bone. Crimson blossomed from the deep, dangerous wound, cascading over his back, creating rivets on his burning arms and decorating the dusty ground with puddles. The medic knew without having to think, he had stabbed the very heart of his curse mark.

"I killed you and you _still _pulled one last fucking trick!" he roared. There was another sickening squelch as he ripped the kunai from his flesh, letting large, congealing gobs of blood pump from the quickly worsening wound. "So tell me, what did you do?"

"Sasuke, what are you talking about?" Sakura demanded, starting forward–

She stopped in her tracks as drops of blood were flecked across her pale face, and she stared down the sticky point of the weapon he jabbed at her, forcing her to stop. Tensed, she waited for him to lower it and he did, surprisingly–

And whipped it around to gently graze the flesh of his throat.

Not one person moved.

"I'm not taking this from you anymore," Sasuke hissed, caressing his Adam's apple with the weapon and smirking insanely. "I killed you to stay away, to make you pay for daring to _screw me over._ And you did it again, Orochimaru. Clever, sick, bastard."

"Sasuke...Orochimaru is...dead," Sakura said in a disjointed, staccato fashion, as though she were unsure of the fact herself. But Sasuke, agreed, inclining his head slightly.

"I know that, Sakura. I know that...because _I'm _the one who killed him."

Horrified, the pink–haired kunoichi took a small step back. _His first kill. _

"And I thought then I could pursue Itachi without his influence. But it seems he can still control me, even now, when he's gone. Amazing. Were you a little too attached, _Sensei_?" he hissed, tightening his grip around the kunai. "I'll say this one last time. Get. Out."

Bringing his hand back, he placed the tip to the side of his throat and pressed, letting the tip puncture his skin just a little to bring forth a drop of blood. "Tastes good, doesn't it?"

Sakura sunk to her knees in despair as her grip on the child loosened.

"Get-"

"DON'T DO IT, SASUKE!"

Naruto's yell was useless–

Sasuke brought his hand back just a bit, a little more momentum.

"Out."

And as the slash ripped through such handsome flesh, the screams of so many horrified shinobi rang in the wide clearing like gongs echoing through a gorgeous eternity. A voice cracked and wailed in despair as two words stabbed through each and every soft heart–

"FUCKING COWARD!"

* * *


	25. We Limbo, We Lie, We Swing

Italics are flashbacks. Three cheers for insanity and iced coffee. _Please_ review.

* * *

Chapter 25: We Limbo, We Lie, We Swing.

_Tap, oh hear the tap-_

_On the bloody windowsill._

_Now a slap, ringing slap_

_beating upon your will._

_Slice, slice it deep_

_Across soft flesh, let's have our fill._

_Her heart, her kind soft heart_

_Prevented you from one last kill._

_Scrape, hear metal scrape_

_Across the gorgeous ivory bone_

_Gather now and reap_

_The morbid things that you have sown_

_Snap, these fine lines convolute and twist_

_Relationships have grown_

_Such cowardice is shamed upon,_

_Where have your morals flown?_

Drenched.

Positively soaked with his blood, she pulled her arm tighter around his neck, trying desperately to quell her violent shakes. Shakes of fear and of the utmost pain, as the avenger still dragged the kunai across, somehow convinced he was hurting himself, killing the presence inside of _him_, not tainting _her _soft flesh.

The culmination, the humming and screaming and crying of horror swelled to a din of many pitches, and Sasuke dragged it deeper. He still did not understand as he continued to dig until he felt Sakura's chin jamming the top of his skull as she shook, cold tears cascading down her face and chilling his scalp.

"Sasuke, **STOP IT**!"

He froze as Naruto's words figuratively backhanded him across the face, leaving him stunned as his eyes traveled slowly down to her arm; it was soaked to the elbow in glittering crimson.

He dragged the kunai.

She seethed.

He tore a bit of flesh, just to **see**.

Blood blossomed and swelled from the arm, still latched around his neck to prevent him from slashing his own worthless throat. He could not understand, he was slow to realize what she had done, and what he was doing now.

He jerked the knife.

She pressed her teeth against his freezing scalp and unsuccessfully quelled a sour note of the most terrible pain.

"You sick **bastard**, knock it **off**!"

"Come on, man, just let it go–"

"S–S–STOP IT NOW!"

Every head turned to see Hinata pointing a shaking kunai at Sasuke, aimed straight between his glittering eyes. They knew she would never do it, yet all the same they bathed in her rare courage, and looked as though they would follow her lead if need be. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, her normally meek voice peaked at the highest pitches as her cheeks flushed dangerously.

"Where do _you _get off?" she whispered, lip trembling. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Hinata, please..." Sakura trailed off, shaking her head slowly into his mussed, ebony locks. "Let me do this." Shaking out of anger, Sakura reached around him, still keeping her arm tight around his neck; his kunai was still slowly dragging across her arm, the grotesque, unearthly pitch echoing in all ears as the metal scraped her very bone. Roughly seizing the kunai from her vibrating arm, she tightened her white fingers around the handle and yanked it from her flesh, grinding her teeth together as she kept herself from uttering another sound.

It clattered to the dust, echoing ominously and not fazing Sasuke in the slightest. Soaked to the skin in the warm blood of their bodies, he stared into nothing and barely flinched as Sakura screamed at him, right in his ear, still keeping her grip around his neck.

"Fucking coward!"

Naruto and Hinata were quivering with suppressed anger while Ino had her fists clenched, nails digging into palms, wishing she had a reason to lose her temper. Pakkun had adopted his masters lazy, impassive persona and Shikamaru and Lee were simply stunned.

"I can't even believe you. Trying to **kill yourself**. You told me once that it was an easy way out. Suicide was a weakness. You said it yourself!" She screamed this straight into his ear, so there was no question whether he could or could not hear. "Endurance made you strong. **You **said that!"

Through numb lips did weak words tumble off his tongue: "I...wasn't going to..."

"Then what the **hell** did you think you were doing?" She demanded, positively sobbing. She was furious. She took a deep breath, pounding hurtful words into his thick skull.

"You worked so hard. You passed every test, you overcame every obstacle, you pushed everyone away and fought, fought so hard to make yourself stronger. You were obstinate and stubborn and always pushed yourself to the limit. And when you'd passed the limit, you just kept on going. You reiterated, every single time, what you were fighting for! You said you'd do anything to achieve that dream. That's why you fought Naruto, that's why you _left_, that's why you _knocked me out,_ and left me on a cold park bench with a bunch of words that..."

A breath caught in her throat, and she pressed her face into his hair, the grip on his neck loosening. _A **few** words...that left me brokenhearted."_

"You delved deep within yourself to try to kill everything that was holding you back, the emotion that you thought made you weak. But it got you. You came back, when you were 15, because that was the first time you wanted to stop. The first time you wanted to _quit_."

"But you climbed back up on your high horse and left again, after staying here and enduring all the shit from everybody, all the ones who called you a dirty traitor. You left, and then you came back again. Just a year ago. And then you left _again._ And then you _came back one last time._ You've stayed since then. What's making you? Why haven't you gone and left for a third time? Third time's a damn charm, that's what they say. I almost wish you had. So you could let me be, stop coming back, coming closer, embedding yourself in my h–our hearts and then ripping yourself away again."

"So what was all that for if you were planning to die right here, right now? It was for absolutely _nothing! _You'd throw everything, all those mistakes, away? Too damn bad! They were your choices, your regrets, and you have to live with them whether you want to or not. You have to endure, just like you always told _me_. When you sent me that pathetic excuse for a letter that I cried over. I _know_ that you know I did. You asked me if I was still there, still enduring, still waiting. I did, I am. I am strong, Sasuke. I always thought you were too."

Sasuke was slowly shaking his head, as if to an invisible, slow steady beat, while the others continued to stare and Naruto clenched his fist. Many nights had been spent, locked in a dark room, in silence, because of that one little note he had sent.

"I don't agree with the decisions you've made...but at least you knew what you wanted in life. Now, you're backing off, you're questioning yourself, and finally wishing you could change the things you've done. You're being weak, you're being a coward. Something I _never..._thought_ the_ Sasuke Uchiha could be."

"You don't have to be the best now, you don't have to face the man you've been waiting for so long to face _right now_, so long as you have the strength to endure the time. Endure as you strengthen, as you wait, knowing that when the moment comes to take the chance on your dreams and your decisions, you'll be ready."

Sasuke lowered his head, effectively hiding his face...out of the utmost shame. Hinata was tearing up considerably and Ino closed her eyes tightly.

"But no...you almost gave that all up...just because you had one little moment of **weakness**."

With that, she pulled her swollen lips away from his ear and let her arm gently relinquish it's firm grip on his neck. The skin underneath was untouched and unblemished, contrasting awkwardly with his stained arms and chest, her blood that continued to seep through his shirt and chill him, suffocating his heart. She let herself fall back on her uninjured arm and held the other one to her chest, holding it limply and tenderly, useless.

"So...you killed Orochimaru?" she asked quietly.

Sasuke frantically began to wipe his hands on his shorts, brushing bright red streaks against his legs, bandaged from the knee down; it was drying, permeating him, like another extra layer of skin.

"I asked Tsunade; she let me read the final report after we had found Orochimaru's body. Apparently he had been injured multiple times with Chidori Nagashi."

"Chidori Nagashi?" Lee repeated, looking puzzled.

"One Thousand Birds Current," Sakura reiterated, staring at Sasuke's tensed back. "A derivation from regular Chidori. Used with a chokuto or other type of sword, the chakra emanating from the blade. Incidentally, the Sannin's neck had been not only slashed but...as Tsunade stated, 'ruthlessly massacred' with such a weapon."

A silence descended upon them. Chidori had always been labeled as a dangerous assassination attack, a fatal jab that was near impossible to live through. Closing her eyes, Sakura could remember the pain she had been in that night, how much, as the chakra had begun to eat away at her flesh like termites on wood, she had wished she would _die_. Her mind had screamed it over and over, and she had been ready.

"Did...did you suspect me?" Sasuke croaked, wrapping sweaty, bloody, pallid fingers around his neck and squeezing it, as though remembering the jerk of a noose. "Being as smart as you are?"

Slightly taken aback, Sakura swallowed and cradled her arm with the other. "Yes. But I had so much going on...I did not have the time to dwell on it. It was so obvious, but Tsunade by rule had to be fair in the final judgement, and we had more pressing matters to deal with. Besides...we didn't have enough proof."

"You know why I didn't leave a third time?" Sasuke asked in the same strained voice, fingers shaking violently as he clutched his neck.

"I was thinking that...since you had killed him...and presumably Kabuto had fled, you had nowhere else to go."

Sasuke chuckled frighteningly. "Ah." Sakura's guess had been right.

"Why did you?" Sakura demanded, jade eyes mere slits against the bending prisms of colors, of sunset. "I thought he was supposed to help you."

Naruto's hand was in and out of his pocket, kunai in hand before Sasuke had finished turning around, fixing the pink–haired kunoichi with a glittering onyx eye. Naruto made a small growl in his throat, warning him, and Sasuke growled right back, in understanding, yet in arrogance. Now facing Sakura, the avenger continued to clasp his throat and spoke in a low, thick lilting voice, full of anger and pain.

"Do you feel sorry for _him_?" Sasuke demanded, voice cracking on the mirthless syllable.

"Never," she replied, tightening her grip around her useless limb. "But you were so terribly keen on worshiping the ground he walked upon, I thought you could hold a little more respect for people you chose over your friends."

The avenger's eyes narrowed dangerously. Lips twisting and pursing furiously, he spat a gob of saliva and blood into the dust and glared, eyes dangerously glittering. "I don't have respect for people who _screw me over_."

Curiosity obviously piqued, the medic's head tilted slightly at his words, a silent inquiry of further detail. And it was time to tell them, tell them all the shame of what he had endured and what Fate had decided to thrust upon him. Maybe it had been a sign; maybe he had deserved it.

"About six months before I returned, when I was with Orochimaru, I had the very slightest suspicions. Acting upon them would have been foolish, so I did not press any points, even when the clues were right under my nose."

"He was weakening and it secretly gladdened me...his terrible condition worried him, and even Kabuto could not keep up with his dying body. Originally there had been time to spare in the decision of him taking my body as his own. But then...the hurried, whispered discussions in the night that were kept from me...they had to do it sooner, lest Orochimaru die before it could happen."

"And then..."

He trailed off, tearing his gaze from Sakura's: Those jade eyes had been full of sorrow for him although she did not feel he deserved it...brimming with tiny tears that were collecting on her eyelids so quickly, a swiftly leaking dam. Not being able to handle it.

* * *

"_Hn."_

_It was unusual for the young man to speak at all to his mentor, much less to the deep violet carpeted floor, the single window through which the full moon hovered, a goddess, or the resolutely blank ceiling. To these things, he was actually ignoring, his noise of dissent echoing in the room despite the fact it had been so terribly quiet. A tone of finality coated the syllable, informing nobody but himself his decision. _

_Leaning up on his elbows, his onyx, glittering eyes, slits against the moonlight, surveyed the forlorn room and its furnishings of acquired taste. His handsome head turned mechanically to observe and let reflect, the round, blemished, white orb that hung over the treetops by invisible strings. Black silhouettes danced across the bottom from swaying treetops from all places so far, so non–existent to the uninterested. _

_A single petal, a twirling little thing of symbolism that made his throat tighten, teased him as it floated across the round white canvas, twinkling pink, a sickening wink. _

"_Fuck you. Fuck Fate." More unexpected words tumbled from cold, numb lips._

_Stretching his muscular arms above his head, he gripped the bars of his bed and clenched the cold, slimy wood in his fingers. Distinct splintering sounded, and he quickly brought his angry hands back, slightly surprised. Was he this angry? Did his subconscious know before his mind would accept it? _

_Raising himself upon his arms, his loosely tied shirt slid off his white shoulders, exposing pitted and scarred flesh; amid the streaked blood there was the disgusting mark, blatantly reminding him of what he had chosen. Of what he was destined to do, all he was to give up for his ultimate goal._

_Of what now...he was regretting. _

_With speed, agility, and deftness that had been so beautifully refined from years of intense conditioning and his boiling Uchiha blood, he now held his chokuto in his hand, staring down his hated reflection in the blade. Like a mirror that forced a man to define himself and justify his actions to the rest of the world, stare everything he was in the face and determine if it was supposed to be that way. He saw all that was: Every mark he had earned from his smart remarks, so hard to quell; injuries from the many pointless fights he engaged just to prove. A knot on his shoulder that was having a hard time healing, a parting gift from a friend that had certainly improved her punch. It hurt more than physically, and leaving for what now, the second time after coming back of his own free will, she had been pretty angry._

_Okay, so the punch had shattered his bones to pieces, but he had not given her the satisfaction of knowing that. He had shrugged it off. She had said, "Do what you have to." _

_He had turned his back._

_She had watched it._

_He had glanced at her, almost sadly, over his numb shoulder._

_She had finished his sendoff with an insane punch to the ground that had ripped it apart, sending debris and boulders and dust flying, hiding her tears of anger, his tears of pain. _

_It had made him stumble._

_It had made her laugh derisively at his retreating back._

_He had returned and apologized to his mentor for leaving._

_She had broken four pieces of furniture, thrown them at her roommates, and 'settled down' in her room. In the middle of the floor, staring up at the ceiling, crushing a picture frame with its picture reminding her of everything that was long gone. The glass had stained her fingers with crimson._

_What was she doing now? Still crying?_

_An abrupt shatter–_

_**CLINKCLINKCLINKCLINK–**_

_The sound of glass bouncing off the windowsill echoed in the silence, his fist stained with blood and shaking as he pulled it back, surprised. Why was he angry? _

_He knew the voices floating in on a breeze without having to question, but he had known they were there before. Now, he would act upon it. _

_Hopping deftly to the sill, he launched himself out and landed on all fours upon the dust without so much as a sound._

_They were only a few feet away, such idiocy, speaking of things not meant for the avengers sharp ears._

"_Is this wise, my Lord?"_

_For the first time, Kabuto sounded a bit wary of his mentors actions. The levelheadedness normally possessed was breaking apart._

"_You sound unsure, Kabuto," Orochimaru said genially, caressing the name in his slippery tongue. "Would I make a decision that was unwise?"_

"_You seem...at a disadvantage–"_

"_Really? Me? A disadvantage?" Orochimaru was using that degrading, superior tone, as if Kabuto had no idea. And he might not have. "I am afraid I must protest, Kabuto."_

"_Do you think Sasuke will simply go along with all of this once he finds out what you are planning to do?"_

"_Itachi is under the impression he will be fighting Sasuke–"_

_The Sannin's words sliced through Sasuke like a knife; just that name sent passionate hatred flowing through his cold veins like ice. But he continued to listen–_

"_When by then the jutsu will be complete. And Itachi will be fighting **me**."_

_Sasuke stumbled back and let his back hit the wall in shock and slowly slid, his skin scraping painfully against it. He knew the tone in his mentors voice. Orochimaru wanted to fight Itachi. For himself and not for Sasuke, of course. He should have known._

"_Uchiha Itachi does not realize that you are performing this jutsu, correct? He will assume he is fighting his little brother–"_

_Hatred shot through the youngest Uchiha again: 'Little brother'. So inferior sounding, it set him shaking._

"–_Not you." _

_Orochimaru hummed to himself a bit and smiled. "Once again, Kabuto, you seem to understand perfectly." Raising his pale face to the moon, he continued to grin. "Ah...there are so many waiting for this epic clash of blood, of brother versus brother. Yet they will not realize the true motives or even...what is going on inside."_

"_You're lying to Itachi?" Kabuto's voice was monotone yet hushed, as if the prodigy himself existed in the air. _

"_He will regret ever doing what he did, mark my words," Orochimaru hissed, his snake–like eyes flashing dangerously, the old jealousy toiling within him. Little did he know he was not the only one._

_Sasuke bit his knuckle hard, purposely tasting blood...Orochimaru never wanted him. He had wanted Itachi. But a blood sibling...surely he could put faith in him temporarily until he got what he had really wanted. So Orochimaru settled on Sasuke and exploited his wants to get closer to Itachi. To make him pay...but for what? Not accepting Orochimaru's request when they had been together in the Akatsuki? Or was there more? There **had **to be. _

_Not that he was willing to listen to it._

_One silent leap, and Sasuke appeared behind Orochimaru, holding his chokuto against the back of his neck. The Sannin did not appear concerned, although he had reason to be, while Kabuto stepped back._

_Sasuke's hand was shaking, sweaty fingers barely clutching the hilt as he struggled to keep it steady. He knew the mentor had his damn tricks, but what he wouldn't give to slice through his neck, down to the bone, watching his body jerk in response as blood vessels broke and emptied onto the ground. Obviously in this world, no one would be able to help him._

_He really had been alone...this whole time. Known, unaccepted._

"_I wasn't good enough for you?" Sasuke hissed. "Everything was still about Itachi. Is that it?"_

_Orochimaru began to giggle._

"_I wasted fucking years on...what? WHAT?!_

"_I knew that you couldn't defeat Itachi and use him for your sick experiments. But there was more, wasn't there? There's a reason...that...you hate him as much as I do!"_

_The pale man stared up at the cloudless night through his curtain of straight black locks and continued to grin. "I cannot tell you the answer."_

"_Well you're not going to ever face him," Sasuke spat, spitting the blood from his lip and knuckle onto the back of his mentors head. "He's mine. I will fight him, I will kill him. Before that, though, I will KILL YOU."_

"_How sad, Sasuke–kun...you are jealous."_

_Shock raced through his body so effectively his shaking had even ceased. "**I **want to kill him."_

"_You sound like a child...claiming a toy..."_

"_Shut up!" His roar made Kabuto step back slightly, fiddling with his glasses._

_Now Sasuke's mind accused him, chiming in with every little insult. "SHUT UP!"_

"_I'm not speaking, Sasuke," Orochimaru whispered, looking at him over his shoulder. _

"_I'm going to silence you, Sensei," Sasuke promised, fingering his chokuto lovingly. "Forever."_

"_Such harsh words, Sasuke–kun–"_

"_Don't give me that," the avenger replied, spitting blood on his mentor once again. "You're screwed anyway. The medicines are not keeping up with your rapidly dying body, and you **need** me. If you don't, you will die, and you're only dying a bit sooner than I could have hoped."_

"_So–" Sasuke said arrogantly, shoving the man away from him, waiting until the snake–ninja had turned to face him. "Let's make it interesting, **Sensei**_."

_Kabuto had been forgotten, left in a non–existent silence. A terrible, fatal mistake. _

_Kabuto was no longer working for Orochimaru._

_Kabuto slipped away unnoticed, stealing through the dark to report to Lord Itachi, and as he traveled through the pitch–black foliage he could hear the weakened Sannin let out a petrified scream. _

"So Orochimaru...was planning to use your body and abilities for his _own_ revenge? To fight Itachi?" Sakura shook her head slowly, as though it would make it untrue.

"You're brilliant," Sasuke snapped, still tightening his grip around his neck. "Really."

"Then where did Kabuto go? He stole away in the dark and went–"

"To Itachi."

Sakura's expression was contorted in confusion as her fast–paced mind struggled to comprehend, to let everything sink in slowly. "I don't–"

"You can't trust anybody in this world, Sakura. Remember that."

His face was now stone, as though it had hardened in seconds; he stared at her arm, the arm she was still holding limply, the one he had hurt. He _always _hurt her.

She let her arm fall into her lap, possessing the movement and life of a worn rag doll, and used her other hand to reach forward and smear a drop of blood across his cheek. With tenderness he did not expect, nor deserve, he raised his eyes to hers and felt a surge of guilt as a tear ran down her cheek.

"I...trust you," she said slowly, forming every syllable with precision and Sasuke watched her lips as she did, the words a shock. For everything he had done, for lying to her, for leaving and coming and going into her life like a bird that visited the garden every so often...all this, and she chose to accept his mistakes.

"I–"

Sakura blinked and felt numb. Had Sasuke really just...said...well, _almost _said...

But as he bit his lip, she knew it had cost him a terrible amount of pride. She didn't address it, but he had admitted it inside his head. _I trust you too._

"Kabuto had fled and I had not even noticed...I was so focused on killing that man, so full of hatred, I had made a stupid mistake. I should have known that there was something strange, because he had run."

"It didn't matter, though," Naruto interjected, the expression on his face still one of confusion; he was still struggling to keep up and understand all the little details that made this incident so powerful, so painful. "The ANBU ended up bringing him in a few months later, and he got interrogated, and then he was dead!"

Sakura nodded slowly, but froze at the sight of Sasuke's face: His eyes squeezed shut, and Naruto winced, painfully unaware of his mistake, of what he had said to cause it.

"He was found injured, right? Most likely. Itachi took a piece out of him, too."

Sakura frowned. "Wait. I thought he was working for Itachi."

Sasuke looked at her in a way that could almost be called...dejected.

* * *

_So he really **was** dead._

_Pieces of clothing were still raining down, falling from tiny tree limbs and coming to rest upon his lifeless corpse. If you could call it such a thing: Flesh so torn, burnt, massacred it was impossible to tell the gender, (not that he had questioned), maybe even age of the, better put, pile of lifeless weight. It was just a body now, fit to be thrown upon flames and burned. It had no identity or personality, no goals or regrets or soul to speak of, and it was most likely wandering now, struggling in eternity to fix its mistakes. _

_Fingers soaked in the liquid life swept back and forth across the dirt, smearing the crimson in, as if painting a picture for a long–ago, barely remembered Academy class. No real objective in mind, he made swirls and streaks, laughing quietly as he did so. Ceasing his unnerving play, he tugged gently at the obnoxiously bright purple bow dramatically tied around the pallid neck of his sensei, and pulled it just a little bit more. It had not been the act that had eventually killed the Sannin, but it seemed fitting, if not morbid._

"_Very...nice."_

_The murderer stared down at the body of his former teacher for a long moment, then rose his head to the sky to stare at the blood–red horizon; the sun was very slowly rising on an act that had no clear definition. Good or evil? Had it been right or wrong? He did not know, and for that moment, he did not care. _

_As though literally electrocuted, so waves of fatigue and exhaustion did torture his body relentlessly, and the young man, shuddering and white as the emerging colors of dawn hit his skin, slumped. Basking in the growing sunlight, his blood–soaked skin absorbed the gift gratefully, and after another silent moment he laughed to himself. _

_Electricity hung heavily in the air, a mimicry of nature such as humidity, and pressed on his lungs that swallowed, inhaled and exhaled the damp, thick air. Air heavy with the distinct coppery tang of blood, vomit, singed flesh and dew. The resulting mixture of sick smells sent his stomach churning and head reeling in response, and the avenger keeled over and emptied his esurient organ of nothing but burning stomach acid. _

_Sweeping the back of his hand across his mouth, he swallowed and grimaced–_

_And became acutely aware of the other presence in the clearing._

"_K–Kabuto?" _

_His stammer was quiet and meek, surprising himself and the shinobi he had addressed. Kabuto readjusted his glasses and swept a long lock of gray hair from his eyes, narrowed with dislike. _

"_You know you could not have succeeded if I hadn't been weakening him from the start."_

_Sasuke immediately became defensive, letting his muscles automatically tense as his adrenaline rose; he would kill Kabuto too, if need be. _

"_Don't test me," Sasuke spat, voice abruptly bursting into his rich, accent–littered tenor, the strength returning. "I'll kill you too."_

"_I'd love to see you try, Sasuke–kun."_

_Sasuke had a kunai pointed at Kabuto in half a second, rage flooding through him. Only** one** person called him Sasuke–kun; Kabuto had always done it, but he had no right. "Call me that again and you'll soon follow your master."_

"_Again, I would **love** to see you try." Kabuto sighed and took a step forward. "Let's get this over with."_

_The underling had never possessed exceptional speed, and perhaps it was the young shinobi's fatigue finally getting the better of his determination; Sasuke slumped forward, shaking violently as his stomach twisted within his torso, trying to reject what was in it, which was nothing. Sasuke swore as Kabuto took the back of his neck, as if he were a dog being disciplined, and held something in front of his face, in the palm of his hand, like a gift._

_Orochimaru's earring lay, bloodstained and glittering._

"_What about it?" Sasuke choked out, clawing at his throat; he just couldn't stop coughing and retching._

_The avenger abruptly cried out as Kabuto delivered a swift blow to the back of his head and he pitched forward, landed awkwardly on his ribs, eventually sliding out flat to lay on his stomach. Violently shaking, he spat blood into the dirt as Kabuto put a knee in the small of his back to keep him to the ground. "What the fuck are you doing?"_

"_Giving you a little gift."_

"_You sound just like your former master. I know about his sick little 'parting gifts'," Sasuke said, straining to raise himself up on his arms, but they did not cooperate with him and gave up. _

_Body rigid with fear and discomfort, Sasuke seethed as Kabuto pressed a long finger to his curse mark and gently stroked it, as if touching the gentle cheek of a loved one, and wracking waves of pain coursed through his veins. _

"_Get off!"_

_Kabuto ignored him and held the thin piece of jewelry between his index and middle finger, now performing hand signs; dark chakra began to culminate and twist around his hands, reaching like tendrils to barely graze the tiny hairs on Sasuke's neck. Writhing, jerking like a dying fish, he struggled to tap into some power, some energy he could use to save himself, but when Kabuto rapped him upside the head again, his skull seared with pain. He whimpered._

"_I really hope that doesn't hurt, Sasuke–kun," Kabuto hissed sadistically, ceasing his hand signs and toying with the earring in his hand. "This kinjutsu is going to hurt a great deal worse."_

"_Wha–"_

"_I'd love to help you...well, actually, I wouldn't, but I have my orders. Orders, in fact, from someone you know–"_

"_Shut up!"_

"_I'll tell you how it works. Well, since Orochimaru–sama is obviously gone, he no longer has control over your curse mark. What a dreadful thing to happen! Surely he wouldn't allow such a thing. He was very attached."_

"_Yeah, to Itachi, not me. Lying piece of–"_

"_Your older brother actually comes into this...see, it was his wonderful idea–"_

"_You're working for him too!"_

"–_to perform this little jutsu, just so Orochimaru's plans wouldn't come completely to naught–"_

"_How dare you fucking work with him! Speak to him!"_

"–_or maybe Itachi was feeling a bit lonesome. This way, you can feel him with you wherever you go–"_

"_DON'T IGNORE ME, YOU BASTARD!"_

_Kabuto's eyes narrowed and flashed dangerously behind his round spectacles, and his lips pursed femininely in obvious annoyance and slight offense. Placing the tip of the bloodstained earring to Sasuke's skin, he began to lecture the young man as if he were a child. "You know, you're being awfully rude, Sasuke–kun. Speaking with your superiors like that–"_

"_I'd never consider you my superior–"_

"_Tsk, tsk. Exactly why Itachi thought this was such a good idea. Oh, and I almost forgot–"_

"_I swear if you keep ignoring me I'll–AUGH!" Sasuke pressed his face into the dirt as the air stung the back of his neck. The little slice had stung more than expected. Kabuto raised the earring and stroked it gently, tilting his head and still wearing a sick, sadistic smirk._

"_Let's get this done, now, shall we?" Without waiting for an answer, he raised his hand a few inches above the curse mark and closed his eyes, the other hand in a complicated hand sign. "Uchiha Itachi." _

_Sasuke could feel the unearthly energy gathering at his curse mark, the entire shoulder numb and shaking involuntarily; Kabuto slowly formed the final hand sign, and slowly spoke the words, "Sasuke Uchiha."_

_Sasuke gritted his teeth, but even with the bare minimum of preparation he could give in his state, he wasn't ready for the erupting pain that commenced as Kabuto plunged the earring, with both shinobi's blood staining the silver, into the very heart of his curse mark. "SEAL!"_

_It dug._

_It bled._

_He screamed._

_And screamed._

_It was no normal scream, not of terror or of fear. Of pain. High–pitched and yet a rough, guttural roar of frustration and a way to channel the ruthless waves and spasms of pain surging through his entire body, as though a smothering blanket that covered every inch of him. The cry, echoing and heard for so many miles in the middle of nowhere, effectively drowned out the triumphant snickers of the gray– haired man, who stood at full height and gazed sadistically down at the writhing boy. Laughing. There was no humor, watching the avenger scream until his lungs were empty and he had nothing left to give, then take in breath and scream more, bleeding heavily from the shoulder as the convoluting black marks burned over his neck, down his pitted back. _

_It was unfathomable. _

_The scream was clear: He wanted to die._

* * *

Sakura cried out as Sasuke slumped forward: His shakes were involuntary and vicious, and as his face fell into her lap and he seemed to shrink into himself, Naruto couldn't stand it any longer. He rushed forward and Sakura cradled Sasuke's head, vibrating with him as the sun continued to fade away, leaving the atmosphere cold and just so chilling. Down to the very bone. The distance became near as faraway cries echoed in their ears, seeming to come closer with every passing moment.

"So now–" Sasuke broke off, struggling to sit up, now clutching at his shoulder. "Orochimaru is gone. But the control he once had over me, because of this mark, is now...in the hands of someone else."

"I–Itachi." Sakura's voice was flat, distant, monotonous.

"Yes. And although the pain does not come very often...being related by blood...when it does come..."

He raised his head, shadowed against the orange–golden backdrop of the horizon. "It's...insane. I never knew what pain was until I felt this. It makes me almost..."

Sakura's expression hardened, and strangely, so did Naruto's; the latter was shaking. Dangerously angry, his cerulean eyes flashed in the dimming light, piercing and glaring at his rival and friend with an intensity so unusual that it was unnerving. Sakura's chest swelled, as though preparing to scream curses upon the avenger, but her eyes were still brimming with tears that were precariously hovering on her lids. Naruto stiffened as Sasuke continued.

"It makes me...almost want to..."

Something in Naruto's mind snapped.

"Die."

**SLAM.**

Sakura's head swivelled to survey Naruto in shock and awe, turning slowly to see Sasuke now clutching at his face, the black marks still streaked across his pale visage; amid the scratches and marks, an obvious red swelling immediately appeared on his cheek. And now, little rivets of purple.

"AND YOU THINK THAT'S OKAY?"

Sakura stared, openmouthed at her teammates, looking back and forth. Naruto was yelling the words she had been about to say.

"SO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN GIVE UP BECAUSE OF THAT?"

Sasuke glared viciously at him, spitting out a gob of blood.

"THIS IS ALL THE MORE REASON FOR YOU TO _KILL_ THAT BASTARD!"

"Naruto–"

"DON'T YOU 'NARUTO' ME WITH YOUR COOL COLLECTED TONE! THINK OF WHAT HE'S DONE! And you want to give in!"

"I never said–"

Sakura was dumbstruck. Sasuke protesting? Naruto raging? And Sasuke hadn't punched in the blonde's face by now?

"Let's get something straight, Sasuke!" Naruto snapped, getting into his face. "Sakura told you before and now I'm saying it again. You have a hell of a lot more strength than this. You always pushed us to do our best, whether you meant it or not. Now we're telling you, _I'm _telling you. Keep enduring, keep _fighting_."

Sakura expected him to snap. She expected him to rage and scream and beat the living hell out of both of them amid the insults he would rain down. Abruptly, she took Sasuke's hand.

And unexpectedly, Naruto took her hand.

Team seven sat quietly in the face of danger once again, staring around at each other as though they were unfamiliar with themselves and with the world. The insults rang like gongs in all of their minds as they looked, they felt, they were wrapped up in so many tangled memories that were never clear, so many words exchanged that meant everything and yet absolutely nothing. The he said she said, the promises made like tied ribbons, broken like shattered glass. Would they be able to stay together this time?

Hesitating, Naruto let go, as if he had completed a very solemn, important deed, and Sasuke looked at him, nodded so very slightly, and then looked Sakura in the eye.

"Why...why didn't you _tell_ me?" she whispered, horrified, staring at his dark eyes, transfixed, as though she had never quite seen Sasuke before.

"What could you have done?" he replied, shaking his head as if to deter her from any ideas. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, steeling himself to convey what he wanted to say. "I _don't_ want you wrapped up in this, or Naruto."

"Wrapped up in this." She repeated his words in numb disbelief; how could he say such a thing?

Everyone in the vicinity jumped as thousands of birds of all shapes and sizes took flight as one, a frightening black mass against the color–streaked sky. Pakkun rose his head and gazed into nothing for a moment, then seemed to pale. "They're coming."

"How do you know?" Ino demanded, but her question was answered as Sasuke let out a strangled cry and began to shake again, struggling to get to his feet. Sakura held him to the ground as he fought in her grasp and began to take charge, whether they all liked it or not.

"We have to hold him off, at any cost. We _cannot_ let him get to Kohona," she said firmly and loudly, informing everybody of the leadership. Naruto came forward and slipped an arm under Sasuke, the other arm carrying the dark–haired child. "Naruto will take the children and Sasuke, along with Pakkun and Shikamaru. Get Sasuke out of the compound and find Kakashi–sensei straight away."

"W–what about us, Sakura?" Hinata asked with only a slight trace of fear. The white–eyed girl had stepped forward, breath held, stance determined. She knew, and she was ready.

"You and I, Ino and Lee will meet Itachi and his men–"

"THE HELL YOU WON'T!"

While leaving most of his weight in the care of Naruto, there was no questioning his flashing eyes and narrowed gaze. Now his violent shakes were out of anger and not just pain.

"I _won't_ let you do that."

"He won't fight me, Sasuke," Sakura said firmly. "He won't fight a battle he doesn't have to."

The avengers ebony hair was on end as his handsome face was contorted; he sputtered for quite a bit before finally bursting out, "He killed my fucking family! You think he'll spare you?"

"He _won't _fight a battle he doesn't _have_ to!" she snapped back, turning her back on him; the others tensed, prepared to follow her lead, but Sasuke shoved Naruto away, stumbled and fell while tackling her around the knees and dragging her to the ground. Kicking and struggling, she tried to beat him away, but after a moment she stopped and listened to him. His pale face was pressed into the back of her thighs, and he was still shaking violently.

"Sakura..."

"Sasuke, let go!"

"Don't do this, please."

The fact that he had uttered such a polite word, please, in such a dejected tone towards her nonetheless, made her cease her frantic struggle and look at him.

"I couldn't...he'll.." _I couldn't handle losing someone again. Not you. He'll kill you. _Raising his head, he glared at her so frighteningly that she turned over as he kept her legs in a vicelike grip. "Don't. Do. It."

"Sasuke, be reasonable, you're in no condition to–"

"REASONABLE? ME? I'M NOT THE ONE GOING ON A FUCKING SUICIDE MISSION! I WON'T LET HIM HURT ANYONE ELSE!"

Sakura shook once, the tremble of someone touched by a higher power, as though someone had dropped ice down her spine, and it had been his heartfelt outburst that had reduced her to silence.

"Got it?" he roared, letting go of her legs and dragging her to him by the shoulders. "Not again."

Although tears threatened to spill, she blinked her jade eyes furiously to stem the flow and her lip began to tremble. Sasuke looked away as though ashamed to see her tears, and gently, like her shaking hands were comprised of the finest glass, took them in his own and stared at them.

"There is_ no_ way," he began, in his low, slow, serious yet terribly seductive tone, "–that I would ever, _ever _forgive myself...if something happened to you."

Sakura gasped; Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, looking at anything but her quickly crumpling face.

And she began to cry.

Despite the many times he had reduced her to tears, it was very different; ripping her hands from his cold grasp, she hugged herself and shrank away. Her sobs were loud and painful, similar to the cries she had once uttered for his seemingly dead body, but the unbearable emotion this time was just too much.

Ino started forward, but roughly took hold of her forearm and stopped her.

Sakura threw her arms around Sasuke's neck and clung to him as if the other choice were coming face to face with Death itself, burying her face in his chest.

Stymied, Sasuke awkwardly put his arms around her; she was fragile and weak, muttering through her sobs and shaking. "Look. I...didn't mean to make you...c–cry," he stammered, internally cursing himself.

"Why do you always act so tough? Why do you act like you're _invincible?_" Her words were spat at him, accompanied with a tightened hold...her hand gently crept up his neck, and through his underlying haze of pain a pleasurable flush washed over him. Fingers toying with his raven locks, tears continued to rain upon the blood that had crusted and dried on his clothes and skin. Each one fell, individually and chillingly cold and reducing him to shudders as she showed him how distraught, how hurt she was.

Sasuke exhaled slowly.

Forewarning blatantly absent, Sakura jabbed two fingers into the back of his neck and let him crumple against her. Half a second.

He was unconscious, and he hadn't seen it coming.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," she whispered.

Naruto ran forward and relieved her of the burden, lifting Sasuke's lifeless arm around his neck and hoisting him to somewhat of a standing position as Shikamaru quickly embraced Ino. Leaving him with a chaste touch of the lips, she touched his earring gently.

"You be careful."

The strategist could only bring himself to nod, and turned to walk away, gaze hardening as she let her fingers trail off his arm. Pakkun made an impatient sniffing noise and Naruto walked carefully forward as Shikamaru scooped the children off the ground, all of whom had been silent during the entire incident.

"But Sakura...what do I do when he wakes up?" Naruto asked, surveying his teammate, his friend, his sister with the saddened eyes of a little boy. Jade eyes equally emotional and round, she swept a tear off her cheek and let her expression harden in determination.

"Keep him from coming back as long as you can."

"Be careful, Sakura."

"I will."

"You too, Hinata."

"Y–yes, Naruto."

"And Lee."

"I wouldn't be anything but, Naruto."

Words were exchanged to waste precious seconds and let the sun continue to paint colors across the sky, trying to ignore and delay the inevitability of it all. Crucial, at the very least, was it to establish the care that had been known and acted upon all along, every day through the most insignificant things that in the grand scheme were not so small in comparison, not anymore. Not that day. Wallowing and yet bathed in the simple appreciation that family, that friends, that loyalty illustrated for each and every one of them.

Sakura turned on her heel, glancing one last time at the people she was leaving behind, or rather, sending ahead; after swallowing and looking at the shinobi under her lead, she rose her head to gaze at the darkening sky and it's wavering treetops, up into the desolate canopies of foliage.

Graceful reflexes sent her soaring, the other three following closely, falling into the almost twisted rhythm as they traveled without hesitation toward what could be suicide, hitting each tree limb with the thump of a panicked heartbeat.

* * *

As if a man with a ready paintbrush had depicted it, so nearly forty capable and ruthless shinobi gathered in a semi–circle, two rows of twenty staring through the thinnest slits of black material.

Itachi stood majestically among them, weathered black locks dancing eerily like vines as the wind forced them into a dance. Air was thick and tense around his presence, as though it were afraid, as if he were of a higher power than nature itself, while he commanded his subjects in unearthly, abnormal silence. The path they had taken, from which they had come was nothing but a green–less abyss of fallen, burning trees and an opaque haze of smoke that did not completely obscure the convoluting flames that were following their march like devoted animals. Effectively killing, reducing all in it's path to the lowest form of nature; the dirt on which ruthless sandals walked.

"They must be retreating; we haven't encountered a single one of them yet."

Itachi nodded in agreement with his current right–hand man, clad in heavy boots.

"They may want us to push them back into the village," he added, looking to his leader for acknowledgment.

"Hn." A man, a leader of few words and even fewer emotions remained so.

Rustling in the undergrowth attracted the attention of the tensed, ready ranks.

A figure leapt through the thick foliage, somersaulted in the air, and landed perfectly on sandaled feet, delicate features shadowed by the haze and the slowly dimming light of day. Her tall, slim figure adopted a slightly pretentious and feminine pose. Tossing her long ponytail over her shoulder, she stepped forward and rested her weight on a slim hip, smirking, wide azure eyes narrowed with obvious dislike. "Well. Looks like we found you just in time. Conspiring, are we?"

Another figure emerged from the haze and let himself be bathed in the piercing light of dusk, eyes also illustrating dislike. Assuming his customary pose of respect, he did not incline his head, but grinned slightly at Ino and said, "There shall be no more of it."

A third presence made herself aware; pale eyes flashed and reflected the streaked colors as her mouth, a prim flat line, twitched. "We will protect our home, and our friends as well." Hinata glanced at both of her comrades, attempting a smile. It seemed out of place, but what could frowning do at this point?

"And_ this_ is as far as you're going to get."

Her voice was a spit as though speaking to the enemy was beneath her and they were unworthy, and a ripple of tensed muscles and shifted weapons traveled through Itachi's ranks. Taken aback, shocked, and most certainly offended.

Giving space, her friends stepped back ever so slightly to let their leader emerge from the haze.

And Sakura Haruno stood tall, proud and determined, soaked in the blood of Sasuke, head held high to gaze at the back of Itachi's head.

"Turn around."

"Don't speak to him–"

"TURN AROUND!" she repeated, ignoring the random outburst of a silly little shinobi who was not even on her radar.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked monotonously, not turning to acknowledge her in any way. His voice was empty air, no inflection, no emotion or otherwise. "Why are you here?"

"My identity is _none_ of your concern," Sakura continued, eyes narrowed. "As for the 'why'...I'm here to protect my village and more importantly–"

She rose a kunai and aimed it at the back of his head; if she had thought of landing that mark, it would have emerged straight between his dark eyes.

"–I'm protecting Sasuke."

She let the weapon fly–

A shinobi broke from the ranks and prepared to block it with one swift arm–

**SLAP.**

**SCHING.**

Sakura watched, unflinchingly, as Itachi held the man back effortlessly with one hand, which had let the kunai slit a chunk of hair from his head. The locks tumbled to the ground, over and over themselves like falling autumn leaves. All was left in stunned silence.

Itachi turned but did not look in her eyes, instead gazing far over her head.

"Determination. Fine. Too bad it is for others and not for you."

"Who else would I fight for, if not those that matter to me the most?"

"Is that not obvious?"

"Fighting for yourself is pointless if there is nobody else to enjoy life with."

Itachi did not even begin to contemplate such a ludicrous idea in his dangerous eyes. "He wants to fight me, you know. Why are you ignoring his wishes?"

"He _will_ fight you, one day. He will endure, he will wait, but when the time comes, he _will_ win."

She took a step forward, tensed: Lee and Ino assumed offensive poses, eyes sweeping the line of shinobi, sizing them up.

Hinata placed her hands together, concentrating for a moment to call upon–

"Byakugan!"

Sakura turned to stare at the eldest Uchiha once more.

His voice was still air. "I did not come for you."

"I didn't_ come _for you, either, but I know what you want," she countered, nimbly sliding a shuriken between each of her fingers and holding them in front of her. "So you want him? You go through me."

Itachi's eyes narrowed so slightly that Sakura was not sure if they really had, if he had actually divulged some little emotion. "I have heard those words many many times. I have heard them from the mouths of much more capable beings than you. Excuse me if I cannot take you seriously." His sentences flowed, yet did not, for there was no inflection to indicate a beginning or end. It was as if he were reading a script that did not originate from a 'once upon a time' and there was not a 'happily ever after' anywhere in sight.

"I'm not here to kill you," she hissed. "I don't have to fight, as long as you turn on your heel and you walk away and leave the rest of my village alone." She smirked. "But I can't say the same for the rest of them," she added, nodding her head toward the immobile group of shinobi who were waiting for a signal.

"So you have come here to talk and not fight to back up your words. Foolish."

"What I have to say is important! I wanted to be the first one to come here and spit at your feet and tell you how much of a damn coward you are!"

Even her own teammates were shocked at her harsh, brusque words.

"That's right! So cowardly that you can't look anyone in the face! You disguise everything you are by putting up a front, to instill guilt in everyone's hearts and make them question themselves!"

Itachi was silent, impassive, and strangely indifferent.

"And you know it..._you know_ it's true," she whispered, fingers tightening around her weapons.

"Foolish," he repeated with the personality of a statue. "Guilt. Emotion. What heart? These things do not exist to me and have not for a very long time."

"Liar!" The normally sweet kunoichi's voice was like the whip of a leather belt across bare skin, full of loathing and hatred. "You have remorse! You suffer from guilt!"

"No I don't." Still no inflection, no expected pause as in normal human speech. "I do not feel these things and I will not feel them even if I kill you."

Sakura let out a sadistic laugh that caused even Ino to look at her warily. "Like you would even try."

Itachi let out a strange sound that Sakura could only assume was an irked sigh, as if she were barely worth his time. "Do I have to force you to step aside?"

Sakura slowly fell into a defensive position but stepped forward; her teammates tensed behind her, ready with their own specialities and everything they had to throw. She surveyed the shinobi behind the eldest Uchiha.

"I'll take the right," Ino offered, smiling.

"Left," Hinata said, without a single stutter.

"I'll be everywhere," Lee said determinedly, tensing.

Sakura raised her head to the sky and gazed through the haze; it seemed to make the colors of the setting sun grow even brighter, as an overcast sky is often brighter than the actual sunlight. She took a deep breath, inhaled, exhaled, then smiled in a very final, submissive way. But she was not submitting to Itachi's will or the inevitable, only to herself. She wanted this clash. She wanted to prove. Protect. And damn it, she would.

Somewhere far, far away, a tiny bird composed a song of lilting chirps and set the dramatic scene.

Speed:

The many shinobi had reacted in less than half a second; Sakura had led them, and they branched off to attack each angle to prevent a single ninja from breaking through their defense. Speed was the name of this violent game. A second too late was a fatal mistake, which could leave you incapacitated, wounded, bloodied, bruised, dead. This was no fight, not like a war where thousands fell by the minute. Each shinobi was it's own dangerous weapon, immovable and the battle was forced to continue, you were forced to endure as to form a counterattack. Fighting dishonorably and dirty, despite the fact it was wrong.

Sakura kept her eye on Itachi. He had not moved and she knew better than to not expect a surprise, whether a kick from nowhere or a vicious attack on her mental defenses from his accomplished genjutsu. But she ran straight at him, weapons drawn, and in reality...

She didn't know _what_ to do.

And suddenly she was in front of him, angry fist coursing with chakra, shuriken still in her fingers, time seeming to slow down, mockingly–

_What the hell are you doing?_

She could imagine Kakashi–sensei's face if she was attacking like this, out of emotion and without a clear thought. Straight on, without some sort of plan. Naruto's disbelief and annoying nagging echoed like a gong in her skull, clashing with Kakashi's calm lecture.

But staring at his impassive, pale, emotionless face and watch him watch her without blinking an eye, tensing a muscle, moving at all, enraged and puzzled her. He was standing, watching her come closer and closer without defending the fatal impact she was sure to inflict upon him–

With a strangled cry she planted her heels in the dirt and jerked awkwardly back, directing her fist away from his unmoving face–

He still did not do a thing.

She had thrown so much strength into the punch. She wrapped her hand around her arm to pull it away from his face, and, realizing there was no way to stop the insanely high chakra flow from her hands, slammed her own fist into the ground, falling to her knees at his side.

An earthquake shook the ground, the people and trees and things upon it ruthlessly, as if flinging a plate full of food across a room. Crevasses formed and widened, dragging trees into the dark, deep abysses as if swallowed completely. The dirt and rock crumbled beneath her feet, and as she looked to her side, Itachi was gone.

Ripping her fist from the dirt, she yanked it back and struggled to her feet–

But he was too quick for her–

A cry, a yelp like a frightened puppy was all that she still had the air for; his arm tightened considerably and she struggled to remain calm as her face quickly bypassed red and darkened.

"Do not think that I do not know you. You look like your mother." His voice was still emotionless, but as his sadistic nature showed he lowered his lips to her ear, his revolting touch sending her head reeling. This man was a _murderer_.

Unwisely, she jerked her head away and struggled to reach her weapons pouch, but he ripped it from her waist and tossed it away; even his slight touch made her body shudder violently, and he seemed to keep her close to him, dealing with her kicks and spits and elbows effortlessly.

He commanded her in a voice that he obviously thought sounded friendly. "Stop."

"HEARTLESS BASTARD!"

"Yes I remember." He smirked, and her breath was stolen in the shortest millisecond.

_No. His smirk...god no, he looks just like..._

_Sasuke._

His grip tightened and she let out a wretched choke–

"Yes I remember," he repeated flatly. "You have a pretty face–"

"Let...me..." Her voice cracked.

"A pretty face...just–like–her."

No muscled tensed, no warning came, no effort required. Echo, reverberate.

And Sakura's neck went

**SNAP.**

* * *


	26. A Loner's Killing Touch

Okay, so I cried when I did this, and you'll understand why when you're done reading. God, I'm almost done. I stayed up pretty late to finish this but I believe it was worth it, so tell me in a review if it was, lol. I'd appreciate it. And I want to thank every person that reviewed this since it was obnoxiously long. :)

**Melly!--**Find the Chris Daughtry lyric! XD Hint: It's said by Sakura.

* * *

**Chapter 26: A Loner's Killing Touch**

**--**

"_WHAT_?"

Fleeting glances, weapons drawn, and Naruto threw up his hand and winced as

**SLAP**.

The angry fist hit an open palm with a ringing, sharp sound and another one swung around–

**SLAP**.

Shaking his head slightly, his dulled blue eyes lowered to the dusty ground, half–lidded against the bending prisms of light shining through the foliage, defensively blocking every furious punch thrown. No tricks, no exceptional power, just bruised knuckles and little sparkling drops that should have been called tears, no, though, he didn't cry. It was just the anger. He didn't attempt to inflict pain on his friend, instead kept his head down in shame and in pity, wincing as his hands were beat upon.

"WHY?"

Just let him, let him keep on slapping like the world will wait for him to understand when it won't do a damn thing. Rage and scream and curse everyone and everything, until he realizes it was for his own good.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU_ THINKING_?" Knuckles crack, emotion spills through a floodgate that had been enduring cracks for too long and so here, in all its majestic glory, it does come.

"HE'LL _KILL_ HER!" Syllables crack. High–pitched mirth is the cry of the eternally, forever broken. A wounded animal.

And Naruto takes it, because he just can't bear to say anything else.

With every accented word, he feels powerful fists slam into his hand, blood rising to the surface as vessels burst beneath raw skin and bleed; bruises. Palms of hands that cause no pain defend and endure, because he is his friend, and he knows what he feels. The avenger does not try to make it hurt because as always, actions tell the story while the words are an afterthought, a seasoning sprinkled over the main course.

Heaving chest–

**SLAP**.

It doesn't stop. It _can't_ stop.

"HE'LL–KILL–HER! HE'LL _KILL_ HER AND I CAN'T STOP HIM, NOT THIS TIME AND IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN AND THERE'S NOTHING, NOTHING I CAN DO THIS TIME AND WHY THE _HELL_ DID YOU LET HER GO?"

But the words, aforementioned, are a seasoning, an accomplice to the action.

Because Naruto can only let himself be barraged with everything, watch his friend fall to pieces in the way that he never expected: emotionally.

Sure, it's happened before, just not like this. Strength is fueled from the rawest emotion he has left to offer, buried deep within the crevasses of his utterly frozen heart. Every time his fist comes back he remembers all the things in his stained past, tumbling over each other like scurrying rats–

_AndhekilledthemandIwasn'tstrongenoughtosavethemIlovedthemIlovedhimhekilledthemIlostthem–_

Fist traveling forward to come into contact with another human being for the utter want of causing someone else so much damn pain that they fell to their knees and wept and could understand–

_SheunderstoodmewhennoonelsedidandIignoredherIhatedherIhateherforallshe'sdone–_

On the second the contact commences and the slap echoes, he feels, he knows, his voice cracks and strains and screams because he can imagine what the evil man is doing to her now.

_He'llkillherhe'lltorturehershe'llbegfordeathhe'llkillherhe'llkillherandIcan'tsaveherbecauseI'mnotstrongandIneverwillbe–_

"WHY DIDN'T YOU _STOP_ HER, NARUTO?" Naruto flinched from the question and squeezed his lids shut as if it will make Sasuke stop, and inside him he's begging while his heart races with adrenaline, his mind speaking ruthlessly to him in the same way..._Becauseshewantedmetodoit._

"WHY? WHY–DIDN'T–" His bloody fist cocked back. "–YOU..._STOP HER_?" _Ican'tlosesomeoneagainnotagainneveragainneveragain–_

**SLAM.**

The strain, the force was so powerful and consuming it sent Sasuke to his knees as Naruto's body flew back and skidded across the dust leaving a ringing silence in its wake. Shikamaru and Pakkun were bystanders, observing from outside in the twisted, sick little thing that was a friendship run so deep.

That's right, punch the ground, because it's lifeless and breathless and it won't hit back; the most efficient punching bag.

An expression of sorrow etched on his boyish features, Naruto raised his head and pulled himself to his feet, eyes still squinting and half–lidded against the piercing rays that light up the ground. Blood. It glittered, crimson–black eyes in the dark.

"She...she told me to, Sasuke."

It can't stop. It _won't_. Keep breaking the boiling blood vessels.

"No." His voice was clipped, staccato, final.

"She did. She told me to get you out of here–"

"No."

"–and she told me to keep you away–"

"No."

"–she did it for you own good, Sasuke." He repeated his name again to remind him that he was there. "Why can't you just accept the fact that she cares for you? So much that she's willing to–"

"Die for me? Kill in my _worthy _name? Why? When the _fuck _have I ever deserved that?" he asked himself, shaking uncontrollably on hands and knees as he stared at the ground, decorated in his blood drops from his numerous injuries. "And you let her go. You let her_ go."_

"Because she knows you better than you know yourself," Naruto replied softly, hands dead weight at his side, offering no help because he did not know what he could do. He knew he couldn't stop him. Standing in the semi–darkness with squinted eyes protesting against a man that was immune to rationality at this point, basically wasting carbon as he counted each breath, an inhale and exhale that just meant he was alive for one more second. Not helping anyone. The words he said next would shoot him in the back. "She knows you're not ready."

And they're not the right words to say.

A mimicry of his conscious: _You'reweren'tstrongenoughtosavethemandyou'renodifferentnow– _Convoluted words that tumble through microscopic space and yet stretch to fill infinity, beating him to a worthless pulp inside because it's just too true to stomach.

Sasuke started forward with a shuriken in hand: He didn't care if he had no plan, he didn't care if he knew he didn't have a chance. It didn't matter. Nothing would matter. Not if he failed again.

Naruto sidestepped him firmly, blinking furiously and he was weaponless and to Sasuke, not a threat. "You want to...go after her?"

"You want to _die_?" the avenger spat in a tone as cold as the air that was descending upon them swiftly as the sunlight slowly faded. "Because that's what'll happen if you don't step aside." The last two words were formed with precision and terribly forced calm.

"She told me to hold you off as long as I could."

"Step...aside."

"Sasuke–"

"MOVE!"

Naruto crossed his arms in front of his face defensively to barely block the furious punch he received, holding his breath as the shuriken dragged down his skin. Pain. While Sasuke held many confused emotions, this one was clear as a crystal bell...pain. Made you strong, kept you on your toes, solved problems quickly and yet dragged them out longer than they needed to be.

Naruto's arms uncrossed and now held him by his shaking shoulders only inches from his perspiring face, only inches existed between eyes of the coldest, darkest ebony and the piercing, soft cerulean.

"Go, then."

Naruto shoved him back, still blinking often and lowering his head to the ground.

"I thought you'd fight me, the way you talked," Sasuke hissed, closing his hand around the tiny metal weapon and squeezing as though he could not feel it piercing his skin. Naruto watched impassively as blood blossomed from the deep yet thin wounds, penetrating all it could to numb the avenger from the reality, the real problem, the real emotions.

Pain. Such a beautiful distraction.

"I know I can't stop you anymore. She's pulled you in too deep, but I knew it would happen."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"You won't admit how much she means to you...but we all know."

Sasuke growled and looked down at the ground too, as people often do when they wait in silence and reflect within themselves.

"Really?" Sasuke asked, smirking lopsidedly as his hearing sharpened tenfold–

**Plip.**

**Plip.**

His blood painted the ground, dripping off his hand. "I didn't know you knew how much I _hated_ her."

Before another word had been uttered he leapt fiercely from the ground, powerful chakra control sending him soaring into a nearby tree, and Naruto heard the sound of his feet hitting the branch...

It receded in the distance, leaving them in a silence that pressed upon the heart too painfully to endure.

* * *

"_Sasuke–kun!"_

_Irked, the avenger glanced up from his tedious task of splitting wood; he was grateful for the break, but would not say so, and instead leaned the axe against the stump and clenched his hands. Splinters. Why did he have to offer to do the job, anyway? Sakura offered, but hell, he couldn't have a woman chopping wood, and Naruto wasn't particularly graceful with a large axe, and Kakashi...was too old? _

_Whatever, he was glad he was almost done._

"_Look, Sasuke!" Her voice was piercing, breathless with excitement and it sent his head pounding...the day was obnoxiously humid and the heat was certainly a record for Fire Country. He raised his head and saw her sprinting toward him with cupped hands, obviously holding something important (to her, anyway) and fragile. _

_She stopped right in front of him, peering up at his slightly tanned visage dotted with perspiration, giggled, and tried to brush the sweaty locks from his face. "Hey!" Tilting her head, she tried to catch his eye, but those were currently occupied with the pleasing task of looking her body up down. Taking in her slim figure in cutoff denims and bikini top. Unprofessional. _

_But not bad._

"_Sasuke," she repeated softly, lowering her head and staring up at him in concern. "Are you all right? You've been working out here for hours. You're probably overheated, not to mention dehydrated."_

"_Hn," he replied, more of a mumble than anything. Now she seemed genuinely worried; Sasuke was not one to mumble._

"_Come on," she said, taking his sweaty, calloused hand and tugging him away from the work that she thought was plaguing him so much. "Leave it." _

_As she took him gently along, she kept one hand closed loosely as not to crush it, but firmly, as not to lose it, closed around the object. Being ever so prying and nosy, Sasuke wondered what it was as Sakura babbled on about how fun this mission was, because camping was just so much fun and what a great idea to stop and enjoy the weather on the way home! Naruto and Kakashi–sensei were enjoying themselves near the river and here you are, she continued, chopping wood. _

"_You need to relax, Sasuke," she added, steering him under the thick foliage of a tree that cast a relieving, wide shadow around the trunk, which was where they sat. Sakura finished speaking and put a hand against his forehead. "A nap wouldn't hurt you."_

"_Sleep is a waste of being alive," he snapped before even considering the matter. A hurtful expression flitted across her face so quickly Sasuke could pretend he hadn't seen it without guilt._

"_You're so ornery...you're irritable because you're exhausted," she countered, as though she knew what was best. And she probably did...she wasn't the most accomplished medic–nin under Tsunade's tutelage for nothing._

_He muttered in response, an obvious 'fuck off', and stared at her hand with its slim little white fingers...usually she wore gloves to control her obnoxiously strong chakra, but of course she never had those on when she wasn't fighting. When she slapped Naruto (or Sasuke) upside the head, she wouldn't use them either._

_So small and fragile looking, it was hard to believe she had so much strength in them. _

_Sasuke used both hands to reach across his lap and into hers, where her hand remained closed against this object that the identity of was nagging his mind relentlessly. He pulled open her fingers until her palm was flat to find a tiny flower, a milky–white, slightly tinted pink flower that seemed to glow in the dim light of the shadow they rested in. _

"_Isn't it beautiful?" she asked, jade eyes the epitome of incandescence as she seemed to brighten just by being in the presence of it. "All this heat...and it's so late in the year...they should be gone by now. But it's just one, the only left, I bet."_

_Sasuke stared at it intensely for a moment, then snatched it from her hand and closed his fingers around it; she watched in horror as he opened his palm and let the little wrinkled mess begin to break apart. He turned his hand upside down._

_Fluttering to the floor. Ghost of former beauty. Petals lie broken. Decorating the ground._

_Her eyes were wide as they darted frantically from the massacred flower to his stony, impassive face. Back. Forth. Back. Forth._

"_Beautiful things," he began, getting to his feet and turning his back on her, "don't have a chance."_

_He began to walk away, out from the shade, and looked at her over his shoulder. Almost sadly. Almost dejectedly. Sakura couldn't find a reason to be mad, because she looked at his eyes and saw something...sad. _

"_Beautiful things are taken away when you need them the most."_

_Sakura bit her lip._

"_And beautiful things...always die."_

_So he left her sitting silently under the tree, tenderly stroking the remnants of her little object of beauty. _

"_And beautiful things...**always** die."_

–

_But tragedy is beautiful too..._

–

Snapped in half, the log was knocked out of his arms and his body followed, skidding across the dust limply as if it had not occurred to defend himself. When he had come to a stop nearly twenty feet away, Itachi did not raise his head nor acknowledge Sakura at all; she was standing with her fist still out and burning with twisting ropes of chakra. Glaring at him over the top of her raised, black–gloved knuckles, she let out a derisive laugh and watched him remain in a heap.

How could he fall for a simple substitution? He probably had not expected her speed either, to be able to get around him and slam a powerful fist into the back of his skull and send him flying so many feet. Underestimating, just like so many others did.

Or maybe Uchihas were all stubborn by blood.

A trail of scattered blood drops formed the path all the way to his slowly rising form, seeming strangely impassive as he swallowed and smirked.

_He has the gall to smirk?_

He disappeared. Would he really fight her?

As she jerked her body to the right to narrowly avoid what would have been a dangerously fatal blow, amusement tickled herso deep within it was unnerving. Even without chakra, taijutsu to him was simply effortless, as was genjutsu.

_Taijutsu forces you to be quick on your feet. A second too late is fatal. Your body cannot afford to think when you are in the heat of the moment; your muscles have to know and follow at their own accord, not look to your mind for answers. Find the rhythm._

Itachi knew too; no thinking required, let the body take over. So they fell into the rhythm together, and even when Sakura directed chakra into her arms it just wasn't enough as he watched her impassively, blocking each and every punch, kick, elbow or otherwise with a flat palm. Every contact was a slap, and they didn't sound powerful and angered Sakura, goading her to yearn, so desperately, to cause him some pain. Did he even know what pain was, what it felt like?

"I thought you did not want to fight," Itachi whispered flatly, locking his eyes on her jade ones as he let his body follow the rhythm. He blocked everything.

"Shut up," she muttered through gritted teeth, bringing her fist back and slamming it into his hand–

**CRUNCH.**

The eldest Uchiha growled and recoiled slightly as the twisting chakra ate away at his skin; the snapping bones echoed loudly in the clearing, heard even over the sounds of metal clanging on metal, cries of victory and screams of pain and defeat as they raged on, determined to make each enemy fall. Sakura kept pushing, pressing her knuckles further, pushing his arm back just a little more–

He relented and slammed a knee into her ribs, stealing her breath. When he hit, he hit hard and dangerously. He wouldn't leave a scratch, but he would leave you a wound. No bruises, just blood. No suffering, just death.

Blood expelled from her mouth and streaked across his pale face and there was no reaction, not even a blink. Shaking from exhaustion, she continued to push his arm back, twisting and reducing the bones in his hand to a fine powder, the chakra pulsing through her veins–

_Just keep going, just keep–_

Now a snap; his elbow.

Skin on skin: His other arm swung around and grabbed her throat tightly with fingernails digging deep...scraping and holding on...but not enough to completely choke her.

There was no nail polish. Disassociate.

Locked in an unexpected stalemate with reluctance prevalent on both sides and the scales poised to tip for either direction.

But when Sakura looked in his eyes, she could see passionate hatred for every thing in the world, the smallest insect to the largest village, animal to plant to color to mere words that wasted time and were worthless in his mind. Staring back at her were the thousands of pairs of eyes of all the people he had killed...women and children and animals he felt like kicking out of his way and shinobi whom had sworn loyalty but had failed. Some hadn't even failed, just existent. A sick sport was this killing. Overwhelmed with the tears and desperate cries and glares of hatred and sworn revenge of all those poor people...they'd been defenseless and still died for everything they had believed in, just to stand up to the inevitable.

Sakura realized she was on the border...she was almost tapping into his mind...and Itachi knew too–

His grip tightened, and she called upon the little strength she could give with her lungs writhing like dying fish, cradled inside her broken ribs–

And miraculously, she pushed him back.

Itachi growled again, determined not to cry out as she forced her fist forward and crushed his limp arm into his shoulder bone, harder, waiting for his shoulder to–

**SNAP**.

His grip loosened around her neck but she didn't have the strength to hold herself up; she fell with him, on top of him to the ground; the impact of her final burst of strength had sent him to the dirt on his back.

So wrong. _So_ sick.

It took her an entire minute to realize he was incapable of attacking her at this point, that he was breathing heavily and that she was sprawled across his tensed, muscular body with her chest against his and colliding with his uneven rhythm...her shallow breaths were like a rabbits, and while Itachi had been slammed to the ground his heartbeat was fairly calm...

Revolted, she jerked herself to a sitting position and straddled him, hunched slightly as she reached for her pouch...and remembered it wasn't there. A chill went down her spine...she was unarmed...

Frozen.

He stared up at her with those same heavy–lidded, glittering eyes that held so much emotion and yet so little, washed out black locks fanned out simply perfectly beneath his head. His cloak was open, Sakura's knees pinned upon the silky material and revealing his muscular chest, rising and falling almost delicately as he watched her indifferently, struggling with herself and trying to quell her fear.

Steady fingers rose, pale and blood–stained, and before she could utter a breath pinned her wrists together, two little slim hands in his calloused one. It was his supposedly broken arm. A quiet scream gurgled in her throat as she began to struggle and writhe, panic increasing as his other hand drifted casually toward her mesh undershirt and toyed with the hem...shudders of disgusting discomfort shot down her spine in ruthless waves. _How is he able to do this? _She was vibrating uncontrollably and jerking and twisting as his cold fingers gently felt her skin as they traveled higher, practiced fingers moving beneath the material.

It was strange to him...it was so soft. What a concept. His broken hand was barely steady, just able to hold her.

Sickening thoughts of what he would do to her flashed through her mind, imagination so terrible graphic...he was touching her, he was insane he would rape her and tie her up and toy with her and steal her innocence and dear God, _this _couldn't happen–

She bit her lip.

Itachi gently tugged the kunai out from underneath her shirt with his good arm and smirked slightly as he handed it to her, fingers around the blade, handle within her reach. She stiffened.

"Take it."

Sakura reached for it slowly, but when her fingers had barely grazed the handle he jerked it out of her reach. He snickered.

Jade eyes narrowed in defiance and warning, she reached for it again–

This time he snickered _before_ jerking it out of her reach.

Digging her fingernails into his pale hand, she held tightly and brought her other hand high above his head–

**SLAP**.

She backhanded him with enough force to knock over a horse, and his neck was whipped ruthlessly to the right as she left her hand hovering; he brought a hand to his jaw and felt it gingerly with a light laugh tinkling with sick amusement.

"Do you strike Sasuke that way?"

Sakura wrapped both of her hands around the weapon and rose it above her head, point aimed straight for his stone heart. "Don't you _ever_ say his name. _Ever_."

"You will not hurt me," he replied, the slightest injection of an emotion, yes an emotion, something undoubtedly...human. As if this conversation was between two acquaintances, not a girl whose heart had led her to this, not a murderer that had much more to him than the passionate hatred that was on the surface. A girl whom had given all she had to fight for the people she loved against something so terribly inevitable. A man whom was much more than insane.

He was much more.

"I want you to get out of here...and _don't_ come back. Not for a long time." Her grip loosened on the kunai and her determination seemed to falter.

Itachi couldn't seem to stop smirking, and he reached forward with such a steady hand that contradicted his even paler face; the pain of his shattered arm would surely be taking it's toll. With his unbroken limb he touched her face in a way that seemed awkward, as if he was not sure what gentleness was. Rubbing the base of his thumb roughly on her cheekbone, he whispered flatly, "That almost sounds like an invitation _to_ come back."

"You wish, sick fuck," she spat, removing one hand from the weapon to grab his and pull it away from her face with an involuntary shudder.

A breath caught in her swollen throat as he put his hand back, the same place as before.

"Stop it!" she shrieked, slapping at him and stabbing the kunai into his arm; a single rivet of crimson ran down his pale arm and dripping silently on his chiseled chest, but he didn't react.

"Don't touch me!" She stabbed him again, the same place, deeper.

No reaction.

A strangled cry of fury, and the man's arm was pinned to the dirt, the metal penetrating so many layers of flesh, the point just barely severing the strands through his robe sleeve. Reaching into her shirt she swiftly unsheathed another kunai and now took his broken arm and did the same thing, making sure it went all the way through. She wanted to make him cry out in pain and react, do something...but he still stared at her as if he'd just met her, as if he'd just realized her existence.

_Look at me.._

_I want to see..._

Itachi locked his eyes on hers and this time she was drawn in so quickly there was no time to prepare as he delved within...

She gasped but couldn't tear her eyes away and blinking was impossible; her body could not move no matter how much she tried. She had forgotten, as if she had come into the world at that very moment and knew nothing else.

"_You know that you cannot fail, Itachi."_

"_I know, sir."_

"_Failure is death. Failure is death."_

"_Yes."_

_As if he had made a smart, sarcastic remark, his squad leader slapped him across the face so ruthlessly; tears formed in his eyes as the impact stung. Stung not only in pain but in embarrassment as his teammates stared impassively back at him, feeling no remorse. These were orders. It was Itachi's fault he was strong. He should use his strength to step on others. "Say it," his leader barked. _

"_Failure is death. My strength should be used to launch myself to the top. I am powerful. Failure is death."_

"_That's what I want to hear, Itachi," he was told, his black locks ruffled roughly by the jounin. Ever since he'd been a child, he was wanted for what he could do and not for who he was. This was the last time he had been slapped; age 5. Before he'd even graduated from the Academy. He was destined and they all knew it. Destined for greatness, for this illustrious clan he had been born into. So he had to step up._

"_Failure is not an option. It is **death**."_

Sakura screamed and tore her gaze away, clutching at her head with white, shaking knuckles, beginning to rock back and forth as she cried. Slapped. He had been struck, over and over and over again for absolutely nothing. Because he yearned for love for what he was inside, not the talent and abilities he had. Power corrupted, and power could be corrupted.

And for that little child...his life had been ruined the moment he had been exploited.

Abruptly she stopped and glanced at his expression; slightly aloof, as though these images did not bother him at all because they had been seen so many times he was immune. Immune as he was to everything and everyone else.

"You understand, girl?" The natural pause in his tone made her stare at him, watching him watch the dimming light and streaked colors above him. "You do. You seem to be the only one that does. It does not matter because I do not possess enough regret to turn back and attempt to change anything."

"I won't cry for _you_," she spat, shaking her head furiously to clear her own mind of the images. "You've tortured Sasuke ruthlessly through your life and all of his, and all he ever did was try to look up to you. He told me so. You've made him this way!"

"And you make me this way," he muttered, still not looking at her. "What are you?"

Sakura stiffened, hair standing on end in grave offense, a prelude to her temper. "What am _I_? What are _you_? You're a murderer and a sick, twisted man that treats life like a fucking used tissue! You find pleasure in killing and torturing your little brother, the only person that probably ever admired you for who you were, and you've turned him into..._YOU_!"

His eyes flickered in her direction. "And you love him the way he is?"

"OF _COURSE _I DO!" Sakura screamed passionately, enraged at his accusing inquiry. "I love him for _who he is_, even if he's not perfect."

"I see why he cares for you too."

Sakura sneered. "How would _you_ know?"

"I am everywhere. That is all you need to know."

The medic slid off him and stood, brushing the dirt from her knees and trying desperately to get rid of his discomforting, lingering touch. "You're disgusting...you're soulless and you're not a person, You're a disease!"

Taking a deep breath, she muttered, "Now get out of here." Then she realized his arms were pinned to the dirt, limp and bloody and stuck fast. She swore as he disappeared once again, the kunai stuck by their points in the ground.

They whistled toward her back but she whirled around, grabbed the first and swiftly blocked the second; it clattered to the ground, spattering blood on her hands and the dirt. Her leg was shaking violently beneath her weight; she'd probably twisted it badly, but she didn't have the strength or the time to squander trying to heal it. She wasn't like Naruto or Sasuke...her stamina was still weaker in comparison and she had no trump card or signature ninjutsu to pull out of her sleeve, one last trick.

All she had was her will...and hopefully it would be enough.

But she didn't think so...not this time.

Oh. Lack of confidence.

**SLAM**.

Payback. Forget not showing emotion, that had hurt; Sakura crumpled to the ground on her already bruised ribs with a shriek of indignation and surprise. He was nowhere to be seen, and for a fleeting moment, she wondered if there was a chance she would die.

No time: her vision tilted as her head spun...it was as if someone had taken an axe straight to the back of her skull, and she was sure it was splitting in two, blood cascading down the back of her neck in pretty red waves, just like one of the millions of nightmares...

An axe...

"_Beautiful things don't have a chance...Beautiful things **always** die."_

Here she was on the verge of death, still pining for and thinking of someone who would never care as much as she did. But, it had been her choice.

As her limp, fatigued body was kicked in the side, more particularly in the organs she had no strength to protect, her words and demeanor said it all.

_I give up._

She let her eyes fall closed and just as this little action had commenced she was picked up by the collar and slammed against something rough and thick and tall; a faint scent of bark. A tree.

Slowly opening her eyes she started to find Itachi's black, glittering, so terribly familiar eyes narrowed as they stared at her, swallowed her, just like Sasuke's...they were exactly the same. Able to crumble the most emotionally steadfast person down, strip them of all that they were layer by layer until eventually...you reached the raw, soft things that made people, people. That made human beings just that.

"What are you?" His voice was demanding and yet not rough or guttural like she had expected. It was almost soft, but not the soft, emotional tones she could extract from dear Sasuke, no...

Soft like wretched whispers. Soft like skin that enjoyed the touch and yet was revolted. So wrong, and so right.

"What...do you mean?" she asked, letting her head fall back against the trunk as felt his dangerous anger, craved yet untouchable, radiated. She could feel his confusion and hear the subtle tones of it in his voice.

"Do you know why Sasuke loves you, girl? Why he acts the way he does but craves you and needs you in a way so much that he is so addicted and he would rather die than admit it?"

"He doesn't–" She couldn't bring herself to say it. _He doesn't love me._

"Because you make him feel human."

Silence fell. Such a majestic and powerful thing, the effect of saying nothing at all.

"He is not supposed to be. But he wants to be. Many people do. Shinobi are supposed to be mindless, emotionless machines that do their duty and only that. He has taken it further, my little brother, and has tried to kill it completely."

"Just like _you _have."

Itachi glared at her angrily, then shoved her harder against the tree trunk. Ignoring her involuntary spasms of pain he slowly slipped a muscular arm around her waist and bared his teeth angrily (so reminiscent of Sasuke that her lip trembled). "No girl. _Not_ just like I have."

And without another word, with no obvious pretense, he crushed his lips against hers.

–

_What are you?_

_My definition of innocence_

_Does not give me words..._

_Only one image._

_Only you._

_What** are** you?_

–

"Stop..." Her whisper was meek and pathetic and surely Sasuke would scoff at her for it...if he'd ever known, if he'd ever heard it. A shudder of disgust swept through her so painfully her knees locked and soon gave. Now she was held by the head and the waist, vainly pushing him away with the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes, suspended on eyelashes.

"What are you?" he repeated, over and over, every time he removed his warm lips from hers he asked. She didn't know the answer, maybe he was insane, she didn't know because thoughts were running through her mind so fast it was making her dizzy. But she could recognize the touch...the needy, groping and grasping and holding that she was used to from Sasuke.

They were more alike than she had ever realized.

"You have an affect on people that I cannot understand," he hissed, pressing his forehead against hers so hard it was painful. Just touching him, enveloped in his warm and dangerous scent caused such terrible hurt because she knew it was wrong and she knew how the rest of the world would react. She could feel how much he needed it and yet deep in her heart she knew...

She wanted...

She needed...

Sasuke.

"Get off!" she snapped. A burning sensation clawed its way up her swollen, blood–coated throat as she flushed angrily and slapped him across the face without warning. "BACK OFF!"

"I want to know what makes you tick–"

"Good luck with that!" she spat, sliding her arms back around the tree trunk and linking her hands together, just in case.

"–What are you?"

With a tremendous cry, Sakura tightened her grip around the tree and brought up her legs to her chest; she kicked out, sandaled feet slamming into Itachi's chest and sending him flying for an unknown distance. The medic landed awkwardly on her back but recovered quickly; with all the chakra she'd used, she was weakening, for he did not land far away.

"I'm a girl who's going to wipe the fucking floor with you."

* * *

_Knock. _

_Knock._

"_Sakura–chan!"_

_Sasuke roughly seized Naruto's forearm to keep him from continuing his frenzied knocks and thoroughly obnoxious yells. His eyes flashed dangerously, telling him to stop. Raising his calloused, practiced fingers to the door, he knocked firmly, once. _

_No answer. So there was something wrong. For when had Sakura ever been a minute, no, that was even too imprecise, a second late? Not without a call, a message, something._

_Sasuke slammed the door open a bit harder than necessary (as Naruto commented) and stormed right in as if he owned the place; technically they all lived there, but knocking had only been a delay, pretense to what they didn't want to find._

_He didn't bother looking into other rooms, he felt it, he knew, she wasn't in them. Loudly up the stairs, swiftly around the banister (with Naruto calling him a bastard and a hypocrite as he clambered on behind) and easily breaking her lock and opening her door to freeze, transfixed in the doorway at the sight._

_He didn't know limbs could bend that way. With her foot resting limply on the bedspread, she stared up at her teammates as if she had never seen them before, white medic coat twisted around her slim body that was contorted so ruthlessly. As if placed on a stand and bent and jerked to fit their sick wants. Only her heel touched the bed; the rest of her was on the carpet, as if she had fallen out of bed and not moved at all. Plush carpet...matching the color of her hair flawlessly as it blended without a discernable difference._

_Moving swiftly and gracefully, his tall frame fell to its knees with haste and bent over her; she was conscious and breathing, eyes staring up at him without seeing much. Unfocused and glazed, perspiration dotting her pale (too pale) forehead and running into her vision, mingling with her tears. _

"_Is she okay, Sasuke? She looks pale, too pale, more pale than normal, you know–"_

"_Shut up!" he snapped cutting across the nervous babble and tilting her head up to look at him; her eyes locked on his. She giggled._

"_Sai!" she whispered quietly, smiling slightly, a contradiction to her actions as tears welled in her eyes. She sighed, a weak, fluttering thing that made Sasuke place his hand against her forehead. _

_In seconds, she was sobbing and he ripped his hand away and muttered, "She's burning up."_

"_Fever?" Naruto asked._

"_Obviously!"_

_Naruto ran out; Sasuke could hear him clattering around in cupboards, fumbling and struggling to think straight. It wasn't often that a problem couldn't be solved by Sakura. _

_He slipped an arm under her body; she was limp and let her head fall back without support as she moaned, still crying and whining and muttering...delirium._

_He'd known it was coming. Tired limbs and frequent dizzy spells and a lack of appetite. Anyone could get it, it was just the flu. But for Sakura it was going to hit her delicate self so much worse than it would himself or Naruto because of the simple fact that she had ignored it. Run herself ragged with her job and with her volunteer work and taking of the chores that her lovely boys either ignored or forget to do or didn't have the time to do. Ignoring symptoms and disregarding a nap or just a rest, until she couldn't keep it up._

_It had happened before. _

"_Damn it, Sakura," he muttered, pushing the sweaty, matted hair off of her forehead. "I hate when you do this."_

_Abruptly she writhed in his touch and tears leaked from her eyes as he accidentally let her slide back to the carpet, afraid to cause her more pain. _

"_That huuuurts," she whimpered, pulling her neck in and shrinking away from him. _

"_I hate when you do this!" he snapped, aware that she couldn't understand him. He glared down at her with a rush of guilt...and yet hatred. Toward her actions. "You know that, right?"_

"_Sasuke is she talking?" Naruto asked, sticking his head in the room. _

_Sasuke stared at him for a moment in confusion, then realized he had been speaking aloud. Huffing angrily, he looked away and down at her chest, fluttering softly with weak breaths..._

"_No. She's just babbling."_

_Naruto gave him a puzzled look and still stared at his friend as he continued. "I'm getting Kakashi–sensei, okay?" _

_Sasuke nodded curtly and jerked his head to urge him to hurry, then folded his arms as if to keep them to himself. Sakura thrashed and nudged his knee, still crying softly, like a kitten or something fragile and weak..._

_Sasuke tightened his arms and kept them folded. "I hate you."_

* * *

"I hate you," he muttered, gritting his teeth so tightly he felt enamel flaking in his jaw. He told himself to stop throwing around such a word, it was a strong word, then easily contradicted himself.

_It's all I know..._

"KYYYA!"

Sakura's scream stopped him in his tracks as he stumbled out of surprise on the branch he had just landed on. Hearing heightened considerably he stared around through the foliage, searching for any little sign–

He swore and steadied himself against the majestic trunk and his Sharingan activated without a thought as he peered through the obstructions...his vision seemed to peel the objects away, layer by layer until he could find what he was looking for–

His heart stopped.

"_Is it really necessary to have her stay in the infirmary?" Sasuke demanded of Tsunade, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow as he stood toe to toe with the Hokage. She knew of his temper, he knew of hers, and of her status. _

"_I'm afraid so, Uchiha," she said, pursing her lips at him; it seemed as though all of the men in the room where nearing her height, and it was particularly annoying to argue with the stubborn ass at eye–level, with a clear view of his utter disdain for authority or anything that did not go his way._

_And when it came to Sakura..._

"_She's in a bad state, Uchiha, she's staying!" Tsuande snapped, folding her arms and mimicking his narrowed gaze. "Now get out." _

"_Yeah, we have a mission," Naruto said, and looked to Tsunade with a sad expression. "We can see her later, right?"_

_Tsunade smiled warmly at Naruto. "Of course."_

_Kakashi left Sakura's bedside and filed out of the room after Naruto, leaving Sasuke to glare at her pale body one last time before slamming the door shut. _

And then...

_It was just **so **__much blood. _

_Spattered. Like jumping in a puddle and scattering the drops across the moist ground._

_Unreal. The kind of deaths you see in movies._

"_If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me...run. Run and cling to life."_

"_You're not weak, Sasuke–kun."_

Sasuke jerked irritably, trying to clear her voice as if it was an annoying insect, and he tried to focus, or it would be too late; he was holding her now, by the neck, off the ground...her feet were just barely scraping the dirt, the very tips of her sandals...

_You're too weak to help anyone, _he told himself, digging his nails into the bark as he swayed slightly. Now Itachi was shaking her, back and forth and back and forth and her head was jerking with her limp body and she was screeching at him and he was speaking calmly to her...

He leapt awkwardly without clear thought to the branch that seemed to jut out of the cluster...now he stood over the scene, watching him hurt her again and again, shake her again and again–

"_Fucking coward!"_

Happening all over again, losing someone important all over again, oh, let's taste the irony. For the very same reasons. _Coward._

Sasuke watched him continue to hold her by the neck and she twisted and writhed like a panicked kitten...she was drenched in blood and strangely, so was he...his cloak was lying a few feet away, and Sasuke could see the pitted, muscular arms...they were shaking as he struggled to keep them collapsing so he could keep hurting her...he knew by the way the bones were jutted and jagged and uneven beneath the skin...

They were broken. And he was still fighting through the pain just to get at her.

Remember, if you can't feel the pain, you can still fight.

"What are you?" Itachi demanded in a low, vicious voice hovering on the border of a high–pitched, mirthless scream. "I have to find you out."

Sasuke tensed as he felt the chakra...gathering and becoming stronger, increasing tenfold with each passing moment that he stared into her eyes–

He began to shake as he watched Sakura struggle and fight, and _I need to move, I need to move damn it, MOVE!_

He couldn't.

_Go on. _

He'd kill her.

_Let her die._

He wouldn't care.

_You said you hated her._

He'd kill her.

_Go on, watch._

Kill her.

_Kill her._

"**TSUKUYOMI**!"

Sasuke's scream echoed through the clearing with Sakura's, clashing tones ringing like a gong through the trees, and the world could hear them, their pain and defiance...it was all going to lead up to this. Sasuke lowered his head and continued to roar, louder, anything to block out her high–pitched screams of the endless suffering and scarring he would put her through...

She couldn't handle all of that. Not Sakura.

He was killing her...and the very thing in Sasuke's world that would keep him going...

Her innocence.

Sasuke pulled himself to his feet and swayed slightly on the branch, watching Itachi's face in horror, and something...he didn't know how, but something was so wrong...so very wrong...

The eldest Uchiha's face was contorted grotesquely in an expression of what could only be terrible pain, but why would Itachi be in pain?

And then Sasuke saw Sakura's shaking arms latch themselves onto Itachi's shoulders, digging her painted nails into the mesh material, deeper, penetrating, knuckles so terribly white, and her head was struggling to move, to turn away from the horror–

Itachi growled, a deep rumble vibrating in his throat that made Sasuke want to slap himself because it was so similar..._I'm so similar. _And the man stared at her with his crimson eyes, shaking as bright blue chakra slowly flowed from her hands and enveloped him...

Sakura groaned loudly and threw her head back...Sasuke could see the tears streaming down her cheeks...her swollen, bloody lips slowly and deliberately forming the words...

"Nobody...fucks with my mind."

**BOOM.**

The explosion resounded and Sasuke cried out as the force of her chakra sent Itachi stumbling back, clutching his arm as her body flew out of the fray and back–

He couldn't believe she had fought it off.

Leap to great heights, now.

Before his mind had the time to consider he threw himself off the branch, and as he seemed to float for minutes on end in space, slowly falling as her body continued to travel back–

"_Hmm...Sakura blossoms."_

_Sasuke and Naruto turned to watch their former teacher preoccupy himself with the tiny, fragile things, turning them over in his hands. "It's strange for them to be out this time of year."_

"_Let me see, sensei!" Naruto demanded, reaching for them–_

_Kakashi grabbed his wrist, and earned a confused look from the both of them._

"_Careful."_

_Kakashi opened his hand and let it be caught by a breeze, and they watched the little product of mother nature float away to find a new home. _

"_The Sakura blossom is a very elusive flower. A short life span and appears in the spring, associated with the samurai."_

"_Samurai?" Naruto repeated, while Sasuke looked on in interest._

_Kakashi nodded, then stood and walked under the tree from which the blossom had come, fully in bloom, a strange thing for this time of the year._

"_They represent ephemeral and beauty...and life," he added, glancing at his companions. Naruto seemed almost awed and Sasuke snorted at this display of femininity, though he too listened carefully._

"_They often think of it as symbolism...that life was like a cherry blossom," Kakashi continued, peering up with the white foliage...when the light caught them just right, the pink was visible, if only slightly. "Beautiful...but brief."_

_A long silence fell upon them, intruders upon the tranquility and femininity that was the one tree out of so many others, a diamond in the rough. _

"_If Sakura–chan could see this..." Naruto said sadly, watching the swaying branches with downcast eyes. "I wish she wasn't sick. She'd love it."_

_Sasuke was silent and unnaturally stiff as he watched a gentle breeze shake the limb and bring forth a shower of white petals upon him._

_So fragile..._

_Just like she was meant to be._

Seconds seem like hours, and time mocks all that exist as everything seems to crumble to pieces–

On all fours Sasuke hit the ground just in time to raise himself to a half–standing position to catch her body in his arms–

The force sent him back, skidding across the dust as he dug his heels to keep himself from hitting anything, but it wasn't enough–

His back hit the tree...hard. Skull slammed ruthlessly into the bark as the back of her head collided with his jaw, and she was unconscious as his organs responded the blow by forcing him to cough blood. Drops hit his face, warm and thick as he groaned and tried to ignore the stabbing pains in his shoulder and spine, sore against the rough bark–

Sasuke let her head fall limply against his collar bone and tried to focus, blinking blood from his eyes...and saw Itachi pull himself to his feet...and they locked eyes.

"YOU!"

Itachi rose a pretentious eyebrow and stared at him for a long moment, the wrinkles from his contorted expression of pain fading as he threw his cloak around his shoulders to hide his shaking arms. Sasuke was sputtering, unable to form coherent words as his vision swam and became red, furious as he struggled to focus through the curtain of blood and tears–

–And then, he disappeared, leaving only a single, solitary green leaf.

"What–you–I–DAMN IT!" he burst out, shaking uncontrollably. "NO! **YOU**–NO!"

Latching his arms around her chest, he pressed his forehead on the base of her neck and ground his teeth...

The scent, the unmistakable scent of fresh, coppery blood.

The sound, the frightening sound of her shallow breaths, fueled by equally fragile lungs, on the verge of nervous and exhausted collapse.

The taste, yes, he could taste it in the air.

The uncontrollable adrenaline rush as he felt his mind rage:

_I hate you..._

_But I love you._

His words were just unintelligible syllables, memories of broken promises and silly little needs and wants that no one had ever listened to, no one spared the time to cater to. The only one who had ever really listened was her.

And she was about to die with all of those little things...those wants and needs he had uttered in the most desperate times...they would leave with her. Forever lost.

"No."

Sasuke clutched her closer, squeezing her ribs; he could feel them shift beneath her bruised and pitted skin, and red is just so common now, as they are drenched in it...normality.

"_Sasuke, she's sleeping, don't go in there and wake her up!" Naruto hissed, peering around the corner of the brightly lit, white room. The pungent smell of disinfectant tickling his nostrils, Sasuke ignored him and walked silently across the sea–green tile, hands steady as he held the small pot. The sounds of the village and the laughter of children floated in through the open window, white curtains floating like delicate spirits. Sasuke frowned. Mocking, the laughs and the sun and the breeze, mocking her condition and mocking him. And how cliche. _

_Averting his eyes, he reached the windowsill and set the pot gently on it, and fingered a tiny blossom before huffing and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Stupid plant. _

_He half–turned and looked at her; sleeping a bit more peacefully now, a broken fever and shakes gone, tucked carefully into the white linens that seemed to swallow her sickly, slim form. _

_Fragility, the epitome of._

"_She'll like that, Sasuke," Naruto said in a quiet voice, a slight smile playing on his lips as he watched Sasuke tear his gaze away and walk to the door. _

"_Hn."_

_She'd be fine...this time._

"Sakura..." he breathed, pressing his nose against the nape of her neck and closing his eyes angrily, speaking through clenched teeth. Inhale, hold, exhale, pretend it's going to last forever and that it'll stay...and it hurts him emotionally and physically to hold everything he can't have against his body...humming and tingling and yet burning with such pleasure...face screwed up and hidden behind her, because she's always been better at letting her heart take a seat on her sleeve. He can't, though. He knows one thing and one thing only.

She stirred–

He latched onto her neck, that little stretch of skin that he always finds without hesitation or thought, teeth taking her soft flesh in his teeth. Grind. Bite. Bleed. Face flushed, pressed up against her neck and bloody face and it's devilishly enjoyable because he wants it so badly... even though he can't allow it.

Her entire body jerked as she resurfaced, conscious. He licked her neck with just the tip of his tongue, tasting her tenderly and Sakura moaned in return.

"Sasuke..."

"_Shut up._"

His words hit her like a slap in the face, for it was not the 'shut up I'm here now it's okay' sort of command...he was furious and beyond palpable thought and words, he meant it.

"Sas–MMM!"

He leaned forward and stared straight ahead, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye; jade eyes were widened in shock as his grip tightened a bit around her neck, effectively stealing her breath and preventing her from taking another.

"Go ahead, Sakura. Leave. I'm used to it by now...and take all that I am with you."

His arm shook as he continued to grip, tighter. Sakura began to wheeze, barely able to struggle against his adrenaline fueled hold as his other arm crushed against her ribs.

"Because it's meant to be, right?"

A single tear slid from her blood–soaked eyelashes and traveled down her porcelain cheek, the only way she had left to speak him. He stole her air, her voice, her choice.

_I love you. _"I _hate_ you."

She knew what he really meant, but he just couldn't decipher, separate, speak.

He glared viciously and roughly turned her body, twisting her injured torso so he could take her chin in his calloused hand and keep one around her neck, still denying her air.

Without pretense, he dragged her head to his and put his forehead to hers, speaking in a low and guttural tone that, even in her panic, made her flush.

Admiring with his last moments of consciousness jade eyes that were just too deep to be real, surely they couldn't fall to endless depths, and full of such emotion, the emotion he loved so much in her, the emotion that when he looked in the mirror at his own worthless reflection...it was always hidden and repressed and never there when he needed it the most.

"I don't...deserve you," he hissed, tone contradiction his action as he touched his lips, with a gentleness she never knew existed, to hers.

Pulling away slightly, he stared for a moment at that same tear, now hovering at her jawline, wavering and poised to fall into an abyss of red, the red splattered across her chest.

_When Sakura had awoken in her empty room, just her and the breeze making her curtains dance, she looked at the slowly setting sun and frowned, ashamed. How could she have let herself get so ill? Not only did they have to completely reassign for the mission she had been scheduled for, her teammates were spending their precious time worrying about her well–being._

_Something caught her eye...a small pot...with, low and behold, a small cherry blossom tree planted inside. _

_She sat up on shaking arms and stared at it closely..._

_All of the blossoms had died._

He didn't know what he was thinking anymore.

Voices were heard, so far away, perhaps calling their names, but he was immune and she was doomed.

She inhaled sharply as his twitching hands swung up to her throat and did not ignore the urge to squeeze as hard as they could and watch her suffer for just another moment...

Her eyelids fell closed and her vain struggling slowly subsided...

Stop breathing. Suffocate.

Asphyxiate, you damn beautiful thing.

"I** hate** you."

One little whimper...eyes rolling into the back of her head–

And she crumpled.

Fragility, the epitome of.

He said beautiful things always died.

So_, so_ fragile...

Just like she was **meant** to be.

* * *

... 


	27. To Feel

Sorry this took so long...the upload manager was being a bitch, so I had to export and work around it; thanks krickitkat! Very long chapter ahead, sorry, lol. I'm so amazed, again, that I made it this far...wow...The first part is a memory, more specifically a nightmare, hence the italics. Lyrics: "Feels Like Tonight" by Chris Daughtry. Um, updates will be slowing a bit because one, we're nearing the end and I get pretty meticulous on my perfect endings, and two, I have to start writing Part II. Oh, yes, and it's the last quarter and I need to bust my ass on grades. --'

I talk too much. PLEASE REVIEW!

* * *

Chapter 27: To Feel

----

"Never fight fire with fire...unless you want the well–deserved backlash."

----

_I don't like white._

_I really don't._

_And I never really have. Such an innocent color, essence of purity that doesn't usually touch me, nor do I have the desire to ever touch **it**. Blinding and penetrating every single solitary corner of the mind and the body, stripping a man down to nothing. It tries to clean a soul...**my** soul, that is eternally stained._

_Because I just can't hide._

_That's the reason I stayed as far away as I could, you know. I had no intention of ever mentioning all those things, about my goals in life and what I wanted to do and what he had done to me. I didn't think, any of the times I had decided to open my heart just a little more, whether I meant to confess or not. I didn't think she would be able to delve so deep and understand the things about me that even **I **didn't comprehend._

_I had cried. I had once been weak. I did sleep and I had a favorite food and I hated waking up in the morning and I really, truly detested movies of any type. No one probably realized that when I had been gone, thoughts of the people I had left crossed my mind more often than I had expected._

_I liked two towels for every shower and I hated the smell of peaches; it made me sick._

_Embarrassingly, I still cried for my mother, even though I learned crying never made a bit of difference._

_And I still had nightmares. A lot of them._

_I didn't tell many people those things. But I'd told her, and I'd never meant to._

_It's coming...and I want to ignore it, but while I try to keep myself wrapped up in my thoughts I hear her sweet little giggle, intoxicating. She wants me to follow it, but I remain rigid, sitting on an abyss of nothing, hugging my knees and staring into the white. Like a little boy I shrink as small as I can, because it's disgusting, it's suffocating, it's frightening and I hear whispers, but they shouldn't be there...right?_

_Sitting, lying, walking in the dark was so much easier, because I could sit there and not be forced to see my hands, so stained with blood or my face, a mask of permanently encased lies. And I couldn't see her face, whether disappointed or ecstatic or contorted into pain, and that made me feel just a little better because in that moment, I could assume she wasn't hurting for me. I wish she never did. She didn't deserve the unhappiness, and when I stop and think about it and analyze and overanalyze every little thing, as I always do, it always come back to me._

_Sure, I could blame my sensei for forcing us to say our goals and 'open up', but I could've refused, I didn't have to open my mouth at all. Hell, I never even referred to him as a teacher or a father or anything he tried to be, even though when he was criticizing me while I trained and sometimes made an idiot of myself...it couldn't have been any different than what my father had done to my brother–_

_"There was a difference," she says, and I bury my face in my knees, determined to ignore. Lilting tones of that beautiful angel make my stomach churn with bile; I can't even listen anymore._

_I wish I'd never told her anything. I wish I'd never–_

_"Please, don't lie to yourself, Sasuke–"_

_She screams._

_You...you got me..._

_Thinkin' it'll be all right..._

_You...you told me:_

_"Come and take a look inside..."_

_But he left me alive; he'll kill her._

_I struggle to my feet and fall to my knees...I look down to find them bloody, and I sweep it away and fling it–_

_Spatter. Like. Paint._

_A disgusting thing...I stain the purest color with the darkest and yet most vibrant of all. Liquid life, reminiscing, it means everything and yet nothing, just like she did, just like all the things of the world. It was no mediocrity._

_I'm rooted to the spot: How can I sit here and look at it? Once white canvas, flat yet so obviously three–dimensional as it has the ability to illustrate the intricacies of the world and life itself, putting them in a different form for us all to comprehend. Starting with drops, now they seem to bleed on their own and spread in fleeting moments, twisting ribbons depicting pictures that mean nothing but pain across the white._

_I always thought black was the most terrible color..._

_Now I know...it's red._

_There are no walls to hide or protect or shield me from the horror, and now it continues like a movie meant for me, a well made compilation of all of my worst fears and ready to push all my unstable, emotional buttons. So in this abyss of nothing he lies in wait; waiting for me to stop squeezing my eyelids shut, because he knows–_

_She's whimpering, he's hurting her, she's crying, her giggles were just illusions, I know that now..._

**_You believed me..._**

**_In every single lie..._**

**_But I, I failed you this time._**

_"Stooop," I moan, still clutching my head and refusing to watch– _

_I cry out as someone roughly grabs my pounding skull and digs their nails into my skin, making my grip loosen and now my vision is clear; I didn't know who it was and I twisted and writhed in their ruthless grasp, and finally I looked up..._

_And I just couldn't breathe._

_I saw so much of myself in her it was as if I was looking in a mirror, but there was one definable difference; she didn't have that taint. That boiling Uchiha blood that flowed through veins, the denotation of anger and the terrible curse. Smile so genuine, hair brushing my face so gently and everything about her was just so real and even her scent sent my head reeling with memories...and I remembered how she cradled me and would soothe me when the lack of attention from when my father left me an emotional mess._

_She was always so nice to me._

_My hand shook as I reached out to touch that porcelain cheek (so similar to hers)–_

_"...Mother?"_

**_SLAP._**

_Face contorted to hide the pain and recoil from the stinging slap, I felt the blood rush to the impact and let puzzlement wash over me._

_"Why..." My voice is meek and quiet and demure, like her voice should sound. No, though; hers is harsh and accusing, so different from what I remember. "Why'd you hit me?"_

**_I can't believe I'm broken inside...  
Can't you see that there's nothing that I wanna do,  
But try to make it up to you? _**

_"Watch."_

_Voice a vicious hiss, not the mother I remember, but it's her face and that's enough to make me struggle and twist. "No, I don't want to see–"_

_Strength; she holds me around the waist and penetrates me with her nails she forces me to watch her...I've never felt so weak, so helpless._

_"She screams."_

_My mother was right. I now see her...Sakura...crumpled on the ground in a small heap of limp flesh, and her screams are echoing in my head and they're never going to leave...I'll always remember them... the sound is unearthly and high–pitched and forces my heart to a screeching stop out of shock._

_Grip tightens. "Now she apologizes."_

_A gentle murmur of whispers through the sobs commences, and I hate listening to them; oh, here she goes..._

_"I'm sorry, Sasuke," Sakura whispers, tasting her own salty tears with an expression of disgust._

_But** why** was she so damn sorry?_

_Strike three; I know what comes next. My mothers whisper is a leaf brushing the tiniest hairs against soft skin–_

_"She dies."_

_I only catch a glimpse of his eyes before he's in and out like a vicious, prey–fixated hawk; a millisecond and she now has no breath._

_My mother lets me go and begins to sink into the white abyss, slowly disappearing from me and I am in too much shock to stop her, for Sakura...is everywhere. Blood is here. Blood is there. It's everywhere. Skin here, a chunk of hair there, her body is massacred and plastered to the walls, but there **are** no walls, so it's just...everywhere._

_Closing in._

_My mother is gone. I'm left here, in nothing of the absolute, and I listen to all those little whispers I ignored, all those greetings she gave me that I never responded to...all those things she always did for me. She took me when no one else would have, and she was ready to sacrifice her own happiness for that._

_I'm in a ball again hugging my knees as the faint scent of cherries fades into the sickening stench of just shed blood, and it's everywhere and I can't look at it anymore so I close my eyes and I can see it still, swirling pictures through my lids...a lock of hair sweeps across the back of my neck and I writhe, I don't want to touch any part of it, but I guess that's impossible...blood seems to drip upon my neck from nowhere, and it's cold and I know it's hers. I retch. I can't stand this._

_White, thin arms wrap themselves around me and cold lips are on the base of my neck, my hair is on end–_

_Oh no..._

_I look at the arms holding me in such a tight embrace...I can't call them arms. They are merely bones with the flesh slipping off and blood spattering the nonexistent floor, and I shudder violently, shaking against her–_

_It all floats._

_"Go away," I whine, squeezing my eyelids shut once again, but it's not going away and it never will._

_"I'm sorry, Sasuke–kun," she whispers, leaning forward and I can see her pitted, scarred face..._

_And she's smiling._

_"I really...really am."_

_And once her bony fingers wrap around my neck, she steals my air and gives me a bittersweet taste of my own medicine, complete with a pretentious, oh so familiar smirk._

_

* * *

_**SLAM**. 

Writhing and twisting, his body hit the spotless tile in a shaking heap while he screamed at the top of his lungs, the rough yet panicked tones echoing around the nearly empty room. No windows were in this area of the hospital and as his dark eyes snapped open they shut quickly again against the painful glare of white. Blanketed; wall to ceiling ivory; undecorated bedspreads and the door to the little box he had been thrown in blended imperceptibly into the rest of the wall.

Cool tile against his flaming cheek did not soothe his fit, instead sent a wave of shock through his weak body and his mind spiraling in dizziness. Now he shook, eyes mere slits in the obnoxious glare as they darted from the wall, where normally a window would be, to the door that could not hide from his sharp gaze. A tiny window, a square barely the width of his stretched palm was fixated near the top of the door and was the only provision; surely someone out there could let him out so he could find her.

Dragging his exhausted body across the cold tile, violently shaking limbs that were impossible to quell and whimpers of pain that disgusted him, but were involuntary–

No concept of time: Abruptly his head hit the door that was not familiar. Metal, heavy, meant to keep away or keep in, trap. Attempting to raise his fist, he let his knuckles fall against the metal with a quiet tap and his head dipped and swayed, eventually hitting the door again.

_Let me out... _

Eyes burning with tears of fatigue, he looked above him at the tiny square from which the world existed and tapped his knuckles again, growling under his breath.

_Why am I here? _

Lowering his gaze, he gave a start–

Heartbeat quickened to that of a rabbit's as his eyes opened wider, eventually round like saucers as he stared fearfully at the floor at the pretty color–

Red.

Throwing himself at the door and pulling his knees to his chest, he couldn't tear his eyes away; he used nothing but limp body weight and raw terror as he threw his shoulder and chest against the metal and ignored the pain–

"LET ME OUT!"

**SLAM.**

"NOW!"

SLAM.

"HE'S IN HERE, CAN'T YOU _SEE_?"

Sasuke slumped against the immovable door and continued to mutter loudly, still trying to shrink into nothing and make himself as small as he could, vibrating so badly his teeth chatters echoed in the silence.

He froze as an ANBU mask appeared in the small window and then moved away. They were out there, ignoring him. A strange static, and then over the microphone the ANBU muttered: "He's awakened...yes, he's still delirious...right...he's screaming now, should I...gentle, right. Awaiting further instructions."

"LET–ME–OUT!" Enraged, he slammed a powerful fist into the door and earned nothing but completely numb knuckles; what would have been bruises broke, blood vessels popping and seeping through thin layers of skin to streak his white hands with more crimson.

Frantically, he swept it off, holding his shaking limbs away from him as if they would simply disappear. He couldn't stand it. He couldn't watch this, he couldn't see it. Clutching his head, he continued to push against the door, just hoping it would give so he could leave, because this was too much, he needed to find that man.

**From the moment...****You came into my life;  
You...you showed me what's right.**

This thought alone sent his insides writhing and his mind racing, memories playing and overlapping one another.

But why did it bother him?

_More people...that I cared about...they came too deep...kicked back out..._

The well–made collaborating begins again...torture the unstable.

"You can't leave him in there, he's FREAKING OUT!"

Sasuke slammed his head against the metal door again and whined. At this point he could accept help from anyone, even Naruto; the blonde was outside the door arguing with the ANBU officers.

"He's gonna snap! Get him out of there! HOW IS THIS GOING TO HELP HIM!"

"Kid, he's a danger to himself, you, and especially–"

"Get him OUT!"

"Hokage's orders."

Naruto's mouth wasn't ready for that response and he kept on going; paling considerably, he roared, "SCREW TSUNADE! GET HIM OUT OF THERE!"

"Brat, don't you–"

**BANG**.

Sasuke's body was thrown backward across the tile as Naruto slammed open the door, unaware that his friend had been up against it. Sasuke rose himself on shaking elbows and stared at Naruto, whose expression was nothing short of horrified.

"Sasuke–"

Sasuke stumbled to his feet and shoved past the blonde, tripping over his own clumsy movements out of fatigue and an ANBU officer halted him, sword drawn and held horizontally, blocking the avenger's way.

"Tsunade–sama said be gentle," the other officer warned, eyeing the weapon warily. "He's unstable."

Naruto rounded on him, clenching his fists. "He is not unstable!"

Sasuke snatched the katana from the officer in a heartbeat–

The officer blinked only to find the dark–haired shinobi behind him, insanity's speed–

**SQUELCH**.

"DAMN IT, SASUKE!" Naruto roared, hopping over the fallen ANBU with his own katana protruding from his back, blood spilling across the sea–green tile as the other officer checked for a pulse with one hand and touched the microphone with the other.

"Code 423, mental patient Uchiha Sasuke is out and on the run, heading down Wing A–We have a fallen ANBU, medical attention needed immediately– "

"Don't fight him," Tsunade's voice snapped, "And don't let him get to Haruno Sakura's room. Subdue, retrieve, and bring him to my office."

"Right."

* * *

Ino groaned and slumped forward upon the white sheets, clutching at her hair while Shikamaru rose from the chair and gently took her hands. 

"That's not going to help."

"Shika," she whined, squeezing her lids shut tightly and causing tears to roll down her abnormally pale face, "It hurts."

"I know, it's a troublesome thing, but be grateful you're alive," he said a bit shortly, more than he had meant to be, for Ino sniffled and seemed a bit offended.

"I...I don't deserve to–"

Shikamaru made a noise of dissent that whistled through his nose and gave Ino little warning; he abruptly took her chin and glared at her fiercely, raising her heavy–lidded eyes to his. The resulting injuries had left her with little sleep and therefore slowing down her overall healing process; pills were no help, for these memories she had now gained in this battle in conjunction with the death of her teacher and teammate, were impossible to ignore.

"Don't say that. He did it for the good of the team. You and Hinata would be dead if he hadn't. He made that decision for all of you, and ultimately...he hoped Sakura would live too."

"Well it was a stupid decision–"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "One life for three, Ino. Do the math!"

Ino's face crumpled. "You know I'm bad at math!" With that, she dissolved into tears and shoved him away, hugging her pillows like her final lifeline. Huffing angrily, the strategist ran his fingers through his hair and rubbed his temples, trying and failing for the nth time to find the exact reason he loved this girl. Impossible to pinpoint, and for all the time he spent thinking, he should have had the answer by now.

Through her muffled sobs, one word stood out... "Sakura..."

A chill ran down his spine but he quelled it, and from the outside looking in his demeanor had not changed in the slightest. One reason he had been such an excellent candidate for Chuunin and then Jounin. Emotionless shinobi. He had to tell her, but he didn't want to and tried to convince himself it wasn't his place.

Someone had to.

And of course, all the difficult things come down to me.

He sat gently upon the bed and silently took a hair band off of the table nearby; it was simple, black, a cord of no real value, and after a moment he grabbed the object next to it as well.

Tilting her head up, he gathered her long blonde locks in his hand and struggled a bit to make it look decent; ugh, women and their hair. She looked up at him pathetically through the jagged bangs he left over her face as he twisted his fingers around the cord and pulled his hands away, leaving her hair in her usual ponytail.

Puzzled, Ino opened her mouth to speak but let it fall silent as he held the other object; her earring. He unclasped it and without a sound fastened it through her ear, letting his fingers tenderly trail off the silver.

She rose a hand to feel the hoop, then took her fingers in his own, holding them against her cheek as he looked away, slightly embarrassed.

"...Shikamaru..."

"..."

Without a word of warning she wrapped her other arm around his neck and dragged him to her, letting her cold fingers slide out of his as she twisted them around his vest and brought him up against her, ignoring the pounding in her skull. Barely a second of hesitation; she captured his lips in hers, slowly and thoroughly tasting the inside of his mouth, running her tongue across his. Responding eagerly and in a similar way, her lips turned up slightly against his; the faint, lingering taste of apples. Of all things.

The little air present between them was thick and warm, Ino's bangs brushing her jawline and his cheek as she continued to dominate in her favorite way. This was normal for her and Shikamaru never seemed to mind; out of the men, he clearly did not favor the masculine superiority present in Naruto and almost insanely present in Sasuke.

Different. He didn't mind. Not at all.

"God." A throaty, muffled moan spoken into her hair as she smirked against his pulse, gently nudging his identical silver hoop. Emotional words that she would never expect to hear tumble off his lips did in such a way that she pulled back and looked him the eyes. "You could have died."

Ino bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly, brow furrowed in remembrance and pain; her forehead slowly fell forward upon his, and breathing heavily... "Don't say it anymore. I'm here now."

Against her swollen, warm lips, still radiating intoxicating heat from her passionate kiss, he muttered the words that she had been uttered such a long time ago, almost in a joking way that caused her such doubt. Thrown so loosely, lines with so much unaccounted slack, said not often enough to her liking. This time, his nearly inaudible whisper held so much truth she could not have asked him to say it again, ever again, the same way he had.

Chills.

"I love you."

She felt every syllable spoken, melting almost immediately into another passionate touch of the lips.

"I know you do," she murmured back, running her hands down his vest, his chest, smiling slightly at the feeling of his muscles twisting and writhing beneath her light touch.

But as she reached for him again, someone hurriedly crossed the threshold in such a panic that they pulled away not in embarrassment but in horror, in shock at their expression. Gripping the door frame, Naruto leaned in and his boyish face seemed to plead with the strategist, completely unaware of the interruption. Shikamaru set his jaw and asked, "What's wrong, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head, opening his mouth helplessly; for the first time, no words were sounding. Shikamaru stood and nodded, coaxing his friend to go on, to speak.

After another moment, Naruto stuttered, "I–I need your help...Sasuke is...and he...for Sakura, looking for Sakura..."

Shikamaru clenched his teeth to hopefully disguise the color draining from his face, so quickly; Ino sat up a bit straighter and looked from him to Naruto, struggling to comprehend the severity of this situation that she could not decipher.

"Does he–"

"He doesn't understand, Shikamaru," Naruto said sadly. "He doesn't know what he did."

Paler? If possible; Shikamaru's body was rigid. "Man, what can we do?"

"I don't know!" Naruto burst out, gripping the door frame so tightly deep cracks appeared in the wood. "Just help me stop him!"

Without waiting for an answer, the distressed blonde ran out of the room, feet pounding against the tile and Shikamaru prepared to follow, but a certain other blonde latched onto his forearm, eyes wide.

"Did...did something happen to Sakura?"

He tried to pull away but now her light blue orbs were pleading, rooting him to the spot and slowly draining him of all capable thought...

Jaw clenched so tightly a tendon was throbbing noticeably, he ripped his arm from her grasp and turned, not able to look her in the face; an angry flush spread across her cheeks–

"I...I can't," Shikamaru muttered, gaze shadowed and intense as he stalked out without a backward glance.

Ino was alone, her only companion the nagging sound of the heart monitor and the ruthless lash of branches, ripped from trees by the violent winds.

Lips pursed, Ino threw back the pristine, spotless sheets and pulled her ponytail tighter as she ignored her pounding skull and reached beneath the bed; hurriedly pulling a pair of boots on under her simple hospital scrub, she began to curse under breath.

"How dare he...the girl could be seriously hurt and no one even wants to tell me, like I can't handle it, ugh, the nerve–"

"Ino?"

Ino's angry gaze made Hinata falter and press herself against the doorframe. Donning a similar nightgown and fuzzy blue slippers (Ino distinctly remembered them as a birthday gift from Naruto; she never slept without them), the pale–eyed girl, seeming even more ashen in the bright florescent lights. Eyes permanently brimming with tears, she shuffled her feet and stared at a spot on the floor, holding her thin cover around her ample chest. "I–I heard about...and...is Sakura–?"

"Yes. He's gone. As for Sakura, I don't know," Ino huffed, standing and blowing a thick lock of blonde hair from her determined face. "But I'm sure as hell going to find out. Coming?"

"...Yes," Hinata said firmly. Ino grinned heartily and took her by the elbow, and after checking for nurses (strangely, the hallways were empty) they hurried toward the elevator, the rumbling thunder masking the tapping of Ino's boots and the quiet shuffle of Hinata's slippers.

* * *

"He's near the ICU, in pursuit of her nurse." 

Tsunade swore and removed the microphone from her ear, easily turning it to dust–it'd only be a matter of time before he found her, and if she wanted to explain their mission today she would have to calm him down. Crossing the room quickly, she flung open the door only to pull her head back in as Sakura's nurse darted past, tripping slightly and running primly in her white heels; she glanced over her shoulder in horror as Sasuke rounded the corner, crimson eyes narrowed and if the enraged boy had the ability, would have been slicing the woman apart.

Eye muscles tightening–

Screaming–

Sasuke skidded to a halt, hands deathly white and clenched at his sides; entire head shaking and twitching as he beared down upon the little nurse...her dark hair soaked with matted blood that ran streaks down her white coat...pooling on the tatami floor, Sasuke's eyes snapped, pupils contracting to see the liquid spattered across the wood–

Refined reflexes unsheathed three kunai and threw them without ceremony–

The nurse shrunk against the wall and shrieked–

**SHING**.

Sasuke rose his wide–eyed gaze to see Tsunade glaring at him; he was now as tall as her, and he looked at her with a frightened expression, staring at her hand. All three kunai were held between her fingers effortlessly.

Letting them fall to the floor, her arm shot out and she took the man by the neck; he may have been nearly an adult, but Sakura had learned to control her strength from this woman. Slamming him against the wall, she held him against it and glanced at the floor.

A full syringe had fallen out of the white pocket, still full of some unknown medicine.

"What is that?" Tsunade barked at the nurse, who cowered and hurriedly scooped the syringe up; it was spattered with blood and now contaminated, but that was not the issue.

"That's not for Sakura?" Tsunade inquired roughly, tightening her grip against Sasuke's squirming form. Digging his nails into her powerful arm, he drew blood in seconds and thrashed ruthlessly against the Hokage's hold, slamming his head back against the wall.

"LET ME GO!"

Ignoring him, Tsunade jerked her head irritably, indicating she wanted an answer right then.

"The head assistant...Marlena? She told me to!" the petite nurse squeaked, quaking in fear before the Sannin. "I swear, she told me to administer it and do it quickly!"

Tsuande bit her lip, gritting her teeth as Sasuke slammed his weak fist into the side of her skull; what was going on?

"Dispose of it properly and don't speak to anybody while you do it. Then go back to Sakura's room and see if she's awakened."

The little nurse nodded, edged carefully around Tsunade and sprinted down the hallway, wobbling slightly on her white heels. The Sannin relinquished her grip on his neck and let him slide to the floor in a heap, shaking violently and nearly on the verge of tears.

"Awake...awakened?" Sasuke muttered, blinking against the bright lights as though he had just come out of a dark room. "You mean...she's...alive?"

"Of course she is," Tsunade snapped, placing a palm against his forehead. "You're burning up."

"Itachi...didn't...kill her?" he asked, tugging on her shirt gently, barely able to keep his eyes open.

Tsunade looked down at him sadly, watching his Sharingan slowly fade, revealing his onyx eyes brimming with tears of exhaustion and pain, mental and physical. Tugging at her, pleading, a little boy with a dire need, he whined. "I didn't mean to hurt...that nurse...I just..."

The Sannin shook her head, biting her lip. "You don't even remember, do you?"

"Remember..." Sasuke fell into a coughing fit, body wracking with terrible spasms; it subsided, and he swept a shaking hand across his lips, smearing the blood across his mouth. "Remember what?"

"..."

"What?"

"We need to talk, Sasuke...all of us."

Feebly protesting, straining vainly in her iron grip, he muttered nonsensical gibberish as she carefully lifted his body from the ground and brought him into her office. Straightening his uncooperative self against the hardbacked chair, she pressed her hand against his head and let her chakra course through his burning head, slowly bringing his delirious fever down. He slumped and she stepped back, waiting for him to recover from the disorientation, and went behind her desk.

With unexpected gentleness, she pressed a button on her desk and the speaker rang clear.

"Tsunade–sama?"

"Send Kakashi in."

Settling behind her desk, she tapped her fingers incessantly upon the wood and stared out into nothing; she seemed to be steeling herself to ignore the bottle of sake that was almost calling her name in the desk drawer. Sasuke raised his head and clenched the handles of chair with white hands.

"She's...alive?"

Tsunade rose her head. So much had happened, and he didn't even know. "Yes, Sasuke, she's alive."

Incapable of speech, the avenger blinked a couple of times and let relief wash over him.

Without knocking or any other warning, Kakashi entered the room and looked immediately at Sasuke, eyes surveying him thoroughly up and down before turning to Tsunade. "His fever's down?"

"I took care of that straight away."

Sasuke would normally become annoyed at the fact that they were ignoring him; he was in the room and they were speaking as though he were not...or as if he were an invalid.

Now the door opened once more (Kakashi had taken care to shut it behind him) and Gai, Kurenai, Anko, Ino, Shikamaru and a random assortment of ANBU officers entered. In silence the jounin gestured to the empty chairs to indicate the young ninja take a seat while the ANBU lined up against the wall and leaned against it, sharp eyes surveying Sasuke as Ino and Shikamaru took seats. Kurenai and Gai stood behind the desk and Kakashi clasped Sasuke's shoulder tightly before joining them in stiff, awkward silence.

Kakashi glanced at Gai, who stood at typical attention with his hands clasped behind his back. Staring straight ahead, there was no evidence of shed tears or otherwise as his weight shifted subtly from side to side.

All heads turned as the door opened as Naruto and Hinata entered; Kakashi abruptly disappeared and Kurenai looked sadly to her side. Naruto helped Hinata into a chair and took the one beside her, keeping a strangely firm grip on her pale hand; Hinata's pale eyes stared at her shuffling feet, still in her slippers and turned in, rubbing her toes against one another.

Gai abruptly snuffled and Kurenai bit her lip, squeezing her eyes shut as though she could prevent herself from hearing his wretched sobs, toiling in his throat and wanting to be let free, so badly.

Something unnameable, unrecognizable traveled through Sasuke, snaking down his spine in a disgusting chill that somehow made a thought fall into place, and without considering another possibility, he felt it...the lack of presence.

Lee was gone.

His grip tightened on the arm of the chair and it cracked quietly in the silence, making Naruto glance at him; the chair on Sasuke's other side was empty. The blonde would not meet his eyes, nor would anyone else.

Attention was refocused once again as a cloud of smoke erupted in the corner behind Tsunade's desk; three figures were barely visible and fuzzy through the gray gaze. Not one person blinked, nor moved, and each of the young shinobi glanced at Sasuke warily again as it began to clear...

She moved slowly, deliberately and with the utmost grace...not the elusive, typical, refined grace that she normally possessed, but a display of strengthened will. Footsteps fell heavy upon the floor, all of her weight barely held, requiring support from the people on either side. Kakashi held one arm and her nurse, still covered in blood, held the other, but her expression was pale and contorted and seemed to loathe her position at that moment. Help.

Crippled innocence.

Naruto's grip tightened around Hinata's hand as he watched her struggle, and he was so terribly tempted to help her as he always had, but the look on her face was set in determination and anger. Sakura didn't want any sympathy.

He smiled encouragingly at her, and her swollen lips parted slightly; she had many words to say that would remain unspoken, unheard. The seat next to Sasuke was her destination and she would make it there, and, shrugging out of their grasp, she crossed the room slowly and lowered herself in the hardbacked chair, silent.

Pink locks hung lank and tousled over her ashen visage. The trek had taken an enormous amount of energy; her stamina was low and her heart, locked and closed as she glared at the boy beside her through a bloodshot jade eye. Piercing, his hand tightened again while she continued to stare from beneath her hair and her lip trembled slightly, as though she was not sure whether to be angry or an emotional wreck.

The nightgown revealed the beautiful reminders she had been left with: Deep nail marks from different sizes and different hands decorated her slender throat like an adornment, as if they had always been there, an admiration. No, they were painful and vibrant, drawing every eye straight to them without hesitation to show strength and to illustrate her purpose. Innocence...drawn to the things that were the opposite.

Of it's own accord his hand rose, shaking as his fingers yearned to touch those marks...there were so many, deep scars that held with it emotional and mental torture...that would take such a long time to heal.

With a sound of skin on skin, Sakura clasped his shaking hand and brought it to rest upon the arms of the chairs, watching him still with one eye. She looked away.

"I guess...we're all here. And...it's time to finally discuss what's been going on," Tsunade said slowly, rising to her feet; the jounin and officers stood at rapt attention as she began to pace behind her desk, blowing a strand of hair out of her face and obviously wondering where to begin.

Pausing in her nervous habit, she surveyed the young shinobi, all staring back at her with solemn, grief–stricken faces.

"Where's..."

Sakura cut off her statement and bit her lip, half–rising from her chair, and Hinata let out a squeak of fright and squeezed Naruto's hand, gazing up at him with a pleading, warning look. Sasuke watched this and in turn opened his mouth–

"He's gone, Sakura."

Sakura leaned forward, wincing, and fixed her distraught gaze upon her best friend; Ino looked away quickly, prepared to explain.

"No."

Kakashi's eyes swiftly flickered toward Gai, who remained still as a statue, eyes glazed and emotionless.

"No," Sakura repeated, ripping her hand from Sasuke's and pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes, watching the colors and ignoring their words. "No, no, no!" Sadly, repeating it could not make it untrue.

Muscles loosened from their tense positions but his hands remained clasped behind his back as he stepped forward, waiting for the confirming nod from his Hokage before slowly walking across them; their eyes followed his towering form sadly, and he stood above Sakura, gazing down at her with a nearly empty expression. She knew better. She'd seen this man cry shamelessly, and yet he was one of the strongest men she knew. Maito Gai, the man who had taught Lee so many things and embedded the most important lessons into that sweet boys mind. Loyalty, courage, and most importantly...to remain himself. Good things came to people who worked and strived.

Sakura stared up at Gai, blinking away tears with determination; she did not want to cry.

His hand came from behind his back and held in his powerful fingers a flower: Held with the utmost care and tenderness, the daffodil seemed to smile at her, reminding her of things so very long ago.

"He told me...to give you this. And he said...he loved you."

Sakura caught the past tense; there was no reason for that poor boy to keep hoping, especially now.

Gai turned his head in Sasuke's direction; the latter was staring at the floor. "And you," he continued, making Sasuke look up slightly, staring impassively at the jounin through his curtain of dark locks. "He told me to tell you this..." Pausing, he looked at Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

"To protect her...always."

Sasuke turned his head away, unable to listen.

He may have been a loser...but he had more courage...than I ever did. I've failed. How am I supposed to continue protecting her...when I obviously can't?

Sakura let out a quiet sob and latched her arms around Gai's neck, voice slowly becoming higher as she spoke. "I'm so sorry Gai–sensei I told him to go, I told him to go back and stay with Ino and Hinata and I wish I never had I sent him to die– I'm so sorry I'll never forgive myself!"

Her voice cracked and she let him go, letting her head fall forward onto her chest and shaking as she spoke more muffled apologies, each more heartfelt than the last. After a moment, he interrupted her in his powerful, booming voice–

"He died protecting the ones he was loyal to. The ones he loved. Please, Sakura, do not blame yourself."

"Why not?" she murmured, staring at the leg of Tsunade's desk and slumping her seat.

"Because it's not going to do anything, it's not going to change the facts," Kakashi interjected. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but we have many more things to discuss."

The callousness from him made her raise her jade eyes to him and stare at him, eyes brimming with tears. As Gai turned on his heel and stepped back into line, Naruto straightened angrily and snapped, "Kakashi–sensei, go easy on her, will ya?"

Kakashi ignored him and nodded to Tsunade. "Let's proceed."

The Sannin unlocked her desk drawer and produced a clipboard. "I guess we can start by informing you that time is short. We have a lot to accomplish in a short amount of time that is dwindling as it is. These deaths," she continued, nodding to the list in her hand, "Are proof of this. Strange deaths caused by reasons that we cannot understand, for motives that we cannot discover."

Tsunade read down the list: Among the names were ones that were recognizable. Kiba, Shino, and Asuma, and so many more...the syllables and surnames droned on and on, while they sat in silent horror. Seconds passed, tallying up the count of lives taken for...what reasons?

"P–please, Tsunade–sama," Hinata squeaked, raising her hand hesitantly above her head. "What about...Neji? And Tenten?"

Tsunade set down her list and side. "We can only assume Neji was missing in action, for his body has not been recovered. As for Tenten–"

"Tenten was with you, though," Kurenai said quietly, talking directly to Hinata, whose lip trembled as she spoke to her sensei.

"B–but she–"

"She was killed," Naruto said for her, squeezing her hand tightly. Gai remained silent.

Tsunade stared at the pale–eyed girl intensely, mind working furiously. "No. It was down in the rules...if there were injuries or deaths we would have ANBU dispatched to remove them–"

"Wait, you know about this?" Ino demanded.

"B–but the ANBU did come get her–"

"No...the ANBU killed her!" Ino burst out angrily, ignoring her pounding skull as she stomped her foot on the tatami floor, nearly standing up from her seat; Shikamaru held her arm. "Lee brought her back to us and she was _already dead_, and with her was an ANBU mask! He _said_ it! The ANBU had been attacking us in there the entire time!"

"I can honestly say that not one ANBU set foot in that compound, Ino. Nor did any of us," Kakashi said calmly, while the ANBU officers nodded in unison, in assent.

"I think," Kurenai began, interjecting before an argument could start, "We should just explain this all from the beginning...our part in it, why it happened and what we expect them to do." Touching Kakashi's hand gently, she leaned forward. "Tsunade–sama?"

The Hokage nodded without pretense or hesitation. "Yes. They have no idea...they've been gone for days...so much has happened during that time..."

Resuming her seat for what would be a long debate, she wrenched open her drawer and slammed her bottle on the desk, taking a long drought before beginning. Each ninja waited with solemn faces and questions.

But this terrible story did not begin with 'once upon a time'.

* * *

"It was clear from the moment our squads had arrived in the little village of Black Castle, so many months ago, that there was something amiss. The mission had been originally conducted for a little...reassurance. We didn't expect to find much, only enough to quell our suspicions. We didn't want to go rushing into conclusions, we didn't have enough proof." 

"Yet the fact that so many of our men had been taken out was a suspicion in itself: Why did they want to so brutally eradicate us? Now we know...they obviously had something to hide."

"But we waited...that may have been a mistake. The deaths began. Random and few and far between, at least they were at first, but it they targeted certain people, down to the very name. After finishing Kiba, they targeted his parents, a very prominent name in our village; it always has been. They went after surnames they knew were powerful, that they knew were ancient and possessed skills and qualities that made us such a formidable and unique collection of people."

Tsunade paused.

"We can only assume they captured and tortured civilians, or extracted by force memories and secrets from ANBU. Even the ANBU...some of them were taken too. Our best shinobi. There was a plot culminating, no question, but we had no proof and while we searched tirelessly for something...we never could. In any case, we couldn't connect any of the deaths to one another. As for theories, well, same as last time. Someone wanted to set off enough events to start another war."

"Of course we immediately thought of the Sound Village; not as much the Sand since we have been in close contact with them. But there was something wrong...and we just couldn't prove any of it."

"The deaths became more frequent, strange and random...and slowly...we began to make connections. With the little evidence we gathered from Black Castle and missions since then..."

"Wait," Shikamaru interrupted; he now had a toothpick between his teeth. "So Asuma's death...was no accident? Are you implying that someone wanted him gone for a reason?"

Kurenai gasped quietly and Kakashi glanced at her; she looked away.

"There is no doubt, Nara, that most of these deaths were no accident."

"What reason?" he demanded angrily, as Ino gave him a glare of warning and tugged the toothpick out of his mouth.

"Drop it!" Ino hissed. "This isn't the time!"

"So we decided to take matters into our own hands. After many more missions, more deaths, more information, we have discovered the plot culminating under our noses." Tsunade's expression hardened considerably, and she reached into her desk drawer again. She slammed a book upon the desk and the young shinobi leaned forward to see as she pushed it to the edge, revealing the cover.

"Much like our own book of missing–nin...except not for our country. This is international, and believe it or not, there's some powerful ninja, thousands of miles away, being tracked just as we track the natives from our lands."

Effortlessly flipping through the pages, she came to ones marked with bright red tags and roughly jabbed her finger at the two pictures. They all leaned forward.

Sakura and Sasuke gasped in unison, breath caught in throats as they stared down at the photographs, in such vibrant color.

The differences were insanely slight: Being older, jawlines were more prominent and the hair, slightly different shades; the woman's was more scarlet than anything, but the expressions were similar. Her face was smiling, the crystalline jade eyes looking seductively back over her shoulder and at her husband. He in turn was returning her steady gaze with a strangely familiar smirk.

Sasuke twitched. Sakura fell back in her chair in stunned silence, staring frighteningly into nothing.

"Who...who are they?" she asked in a hushed whisper. "That woman...she looks like...and he–he..."

"Sakura Tenshon," Tsunade recited, pointing to the woman. "Sasuke Sugiyama."

"That woman...has my name," Sakura choked out, eyes fixated on the jade eyes staring back at her; "And that man..." She glanced at Sasuke, then back down at the book. "Tsunade, who are they?" The others continued to look from the book to the couple, both of whom were rigid and silent.

"They are dangerous shinobi, hailed from foreign lands...known to collaborate with the Akatsuki."

Sasuke's head snapped up as his entire body tensed; Naruto and Hinata stared as he began to shake violently.

"These two are well-known. And we have them in the dungeons, being interrogated as we speak."

Sakura understood. Impersonation. We will have to be them.

Abruptly Sasuke threw himself back against the chair, gripping the armrests tightly, and the room could hear his breathing deepen, inhaling and exhaling as though he were hanging onto life by a weak grip.

"Shut it," he growled. Sakura let her head fall into her hands, whimpering. "SHUT IT, DAMN IT!"

Tsunade complied calmly.

"They are an organization that almost identically parallels the Akatsuki. They have a more refined taste for technology and fine life, but nevertheless are not to be underestimated. Rumors and reputation abound...it's possible they are more powerful than the Akatsuki."

"I think I understand," Sakura whispered. "The contest wasn't for a prize...it was a test! You mentioned a mission...it'll be us! The best of us, the ones who could endure and handle the most! You wanted to see how far we'd go under the most painful, mentally torturous conditions, to see how long we could last! There wasn't a time limit or a number of days..."

Kakashi smiled. "Ah, my Sakura, you've got it."

Anko stepped forward. "Area 13 was the original Forest of Death part of the Chuunin exams. Years' worth of ancient jutsu's went into it, so much time and effort to make it as it was. But when we tested it and realized how powerful it was...we had to shut it down. It was the Hokage's decision; not enough people were emerging victorious, or even alive, drastically cutting numbers. So it was left alone and we redid that part of the Chuunin exam. We left that place alone..."

"As with many powerful things...well, we lost control over it," Kurenai interjected, also stepping forward. "The ancient techniques embedded in the walls, cast upon the land, it all remained."

"So you stuck all of us in there?" Naruto burst out, letting go of Hinata's hand and pointing fingers at every adult present. "We could have died, like, how many times?"

"When you go on this mission we have been planning, it's going to be much worse!" Tsunade boomed, slamming her fist into the desk and effectively leaving a dent. "This was merely preparation!" Scowling, she folded her arms across her ample assets and glared. "Back to the point..."

"Before we know what we're going to have to do," Shikamaru interjected, with another toothpick in his mouth; Ino gave him a sharp slap and removed it again, tossing it to the floor and crushing it beneath her boot. "What happened in the compound? I've got a lot of questions."

"Fine," the Hokage relented.

"Right," Shikamaru said darkly, resting one leg on the other and leaning forward. "First of all, if none of our ANBU were able to get in, that must mean that the ANBU were captured, or most likely killed, and went in there disguised as our own. To break through the defenses that were impossible for the creators to break, they are obviously powerful. They must be the Akatsuki."

Sasuke gripped the armrest tightly once more, eyes still glaring at the thick, leather–bound book on the desk.

"So... what were the idiots after? Were they after Sasuke, or–"

"I'm right here!" Sasuke snapped through gritted teeth, eyes narrowed. "I'm not deaf."

"No, but you're damn crazy," Shikamaru retorted, reaching for another toothpick; Ino slapped his hand down and glanced warily at Sasuke and Sakura, both sitting at the end of the row.

Stung at the injustice, Sasuke rose to his feet, ignoring the piercing pain that shot through his side, but Sakura stood grabbed his shoulders, pulling him down to sit. Without thinking he threw an elbow back into her chest; not very hard, just to get her to let go, but when Ino gasped he whirled around.

In a second Sakura crumpled to the floor, holding her stomach as she bent over and retched...crimson spattered upon the wood once again and Kakashi rushed around the desk to lift his student off the floor. Sasuke opened his mouth, but he could feel the glares he was receiving, heat and hate radiating throughout the office, so he sat heavily in the chair. Clenching the armrests, he closed his eyes and willed himself to remain calm, though listening to her dry heave and Kakashi try to slow her breathing wasn't helping.

"She's not fit to be out of the infirmary, Tsunade–sama," Kakashi stated flatly, holding Sakura's weight off of the floor; she whimpered but clawed at the wooden chair, eager to sit back down.

"Kakashi–sensei," she whined, "Please let me stay."

"I don't think so. You, keep your hands to yourself," he snapped, glaring at the dark–haired avenger, who kept his head down in what appeared to be shame.

"Kakashi, you're only saying that because you don't want to tell her what happened–" Kurenai slammed her robed elbow into Anko's chest, effectively cutting off the remark, but now it was obvious and Anko swore under her breath, realizing her mistake. Kakashi held his breath and now every eye was on him and Sakura.

"Idiot!" Kurenai hissed, voice squeaking a bit; she blinked away tears. "You idiot."

"Kakashi–"

"Kaka–sensei..." Sakura cut across Sasuke's harsh tone, voice meek and quiet in the awkward silence as it trailed off; her imagination was painting disturbing pictures complete with captioned 'what if's'. She straightened and held her own weight on pale, light blue and unsteady legs, shaking violently out of fatigue, and the pleading, frightened look in her eyes injected sympathy into every heart. "...What's happened?"

And this normally calm man would have given any one thing in the entire world to pass off the terrible thing, the deed reserved for him, to someone else. Cruelty in one of its finest forms; she tugged softly on his sleeve as though she were a frightened little girl, lost, alone in unfamiliar surroundings with only the trust of her father to hold on to. And it was true, she held this man in high regard and with the utmost respect that he deserved for everything he had done, in friendship and in many ways, the things a father did.

He could only look down on her expressionlessly, disguising hurt. Impersonal.

"Kakashi." The man whom had been addressed rose his head in response to the Hokage. Jerking her head toward the side room, he nodded curtly and, partly supporting her and maybe a bit for himself, they walked past the desk and into the next room. Eyes heavy with pity followed them, moving deliberately across the wooden floor with the footfalls echoing like gongs in sensitive ears.

"Tsunade–"

"It's none of your business, Uchiha," the Sannin snapped with a tone that stated something clearly; none of your concern.

"It is my concern," he retorted shortly, folding his arms and leaning back in his chair with the air of someone ready for a verbal confrontation. Eyes narrowed, her lips twitched in annoyance as she slammed her hands onto the desk, causing Hinata, Ino and Kurenai to jump in response.

"No, it's not."

"It is."

"Keep arguing and I swear I'll have you on probation so fast your pretentious attitude will be snapped right out of you," she rattled off in one angry breath, hazel eyes flashing dangerously. Sasuke stared back at her stonily with equally intense eyes, though they possessed a strange coldness that seemed almost unearthly.

Most people never understood...behind those defensive onyx orbs dwelled a thing so soft and fragile that it couldn't be seen, comprehended nor 'figured out' by any means. Seeming shallow, but really, held unimaginable depths...

A pincushion lined with lead.

The room watched the dangerously silent man as he leaned forward in his hair, ebony locks framing his face as he rested his chin on his interlocked fingers, his elbows on pale knees. Daring; the Sannin kept a near impassive face, wondering if he would say anything more. Sasuke might have let it go despite the fact he was thoroughly annoyed he did not receive information. He was angry and it was obvious; he could not disguise the contorted, hateful expression making its way across his pale, handsome visage. A twitching muscle here, a slight jerk of the head there, and in the eyes it was apparent.

Abruptly he stood and strode up to the Hokage's desk as if she were nobody and slammed his hands upon it. Knuckles already bruised and caked in dried blood, calloused fingers splayed apart on the wood, he glowered at the Sannin, mere inches away from her youthful, flawless face.

"Tell. Me."

She took the front of his collar and dragged him closer, grip tightening with each passing second as she hissed–

"What part of 'no' do you not understand? You weren't raised without refined manners, you pretentious ass. You sit, you do not speak, and no matter what happens you hold your fucking tongue!"

And just like that, Sasuke threw his last chance clear out the window, through glass and all: "No."

**FOOM**.

Tsunade threw his body away from her and into the back wall as easily as a rag doll; Hinata let out a strangled cry and Ino and Shikamaru leaned back in their seats to see him struggle to stand, his injuries pulsing on every surface of his battered skin. Naruto half–rose but Tsunade barked at him to sit.

Sasuke glowered up at her towering form; Tsunade was leaning over the desk and unleashing a barrage of accusations:

"You just don't know when to quit, do you? Can you even comprehend the severity of what you've done? Of how much trouble you're in, and how much damn grief you've caused? What with you leaving in the first place, strolling back in with a new sword on your back and an attitude to match, leaving again and forcing me to send ANBU after your worthless ass because I just couldn't stand to see my student suffer the way she did!"

She paused for breath, inhaling deeply and in the ringing silence a thousand subtle actions commenced: Sasuke had no retort, the ANBU remained stoic while his teammates twisted in their chairs to stare at his crumpled self on the floor. Naruto was on his knees, mouth open slightly and eyes transfixed on his friend.

"Do you think you possess some immunity around here? I know you care about Sakura deeply but your behavior is out of line! You can't depend on her for emotional stability and then not give something in return! She's too damn selfless and you know that!"

"I–"

"You've always prided yourself on being in control, but you really aren't, do you understand that? You need to regain that control before your bottled emotions drive you to do something you'll regret. Something unforgivable, and you're lucky the jounin were able to break through and intervene or you would have killed her..."

Sasuke opened his mouth but words did not sound. His stony expression was softening into one of utter confusion; he leaned his back against the wall and brought his knees to his chest, still silently asking...because he didn't remember, he didn't know.

"Break through...intervene...with what?" In a disjointed and hesitant fashion did he speak these words, eyebrows furrowing in concentration, in thought.

Tsunade's expression fell slightly. He still doesn't know.

"...Tsunade," he began, raising his hands in front of his face and spreading his fingers apart. He was greeted with the sight of purple knuckles and protruding, pulsing veins and dried blood soaked through layers of skin. Underneath fingernails he could see...flakes of skin and crimson. "What did I do to her?"

"You were holding her," Naruto began, clutching the back of his chair with shaking hands. "You were slumped over and you...had your hands around her throat–"

"My hands..."

"–And you were shaking and screaming and saying..." Naruto trailed off; Sasuke's fingers wove themselves into his ebony locks and held his swaying head fast.

"Naruto, tell me what I said," Sasuke pleaded.

Unanswered.

"TELL ME!"

"YOU SAID YOU HATED HER!" Naruto yelled, squeezing the wooden back of the chair until it began to break into pieces. "You kept saying you hated her and how stupid and foolish she was and she shouldn't have fought Itachi on her own and how much she loved you and how you didn't deserve it, it was so scary, Sasuke, I thought you were losing your damn mind!" The blonde's face was now white, contrasting terribly with his hair, and his final words came out in a mirthless high pitch. "And it hurt so bad because I knew you were lying, I knew you didn't mean it, I knew...IT WASN'T TRUE!"

A high–pitched, muffled, feminine scream; an instantaneous heart attack–

**SLAM**.

The door exploded. The ANBU drew weapons and Sasuke rose his head while the young shinobi in chairs threw themselves back, stumbling to get out of the way as a heavy body flew from one end of the room to the other. It landed heavily, disguised by the dust from the almost shattered door. Every heart was hovering on one frantic beat, a record player that had gotten stuck and was repeating the same notes; over and over and over, waiting for the smoke to reveal the truth.

The medic lowered her fist.

Sakura stepped over the threshold, knees turned in and shaking so violently, knocking against each other as she clutched the door frame for support; emitting deep cracks in the wood, she pressed her knuckles against her teeth. Biting. Tears rolled down her face freely for the first time as she leaned against the wood, so cold, so like her clammy skin. Letting the immovable structure support her frail body's weight, she inhaled sharply, and when she exhaled...

Sobs.

And the body on the floor, flat on his back and wincing, was Kakashi's.

Kurenai let out a screech that she unsuccessfully quelled and rounded the desk sharply, slamming her hip against it painfully as she rushed to Kakashi's prostrate form. Dropping to her knees she bent over him, bright eyes flashing as she looked from him to Sakura, whose sobs were not loud or wretched anymore...there wasn't a need. Anko stepped forward, then seemed to reconsider. She stepped back.

The gray–haired jounin rose his head and seethed as he struggled to sit up; Kurenai steadied him, shaking her head slowly at his hurt gaze; Sasuke got to his feet as well, stumbling forward and regaining his balance by grabbing a nearby chair.

"Sakura," he whispered. She ignored him.

"Sakura...I'm sorry," Kakashi began, wincing once more as he sat up completely.

Sakura's cries were barely heard, and they were not sobs anymore. They were not loud. Quiet, snuffling things, never sounding past her pale lips as she leaned against the door frame, the thing keeping her standing. Something delicate and broken, hanging by loose strings and yearning, so much, for something to protect her vulnerable self from everything else.

Someone wanted to do just that. But he had never been able to. Insecurity and fear prevented him from doing so.

"Sakura–"

"It's not your fault, Kakashi–sensei," Sakura said in a voice barely above a whisper. Slowly, she rose a shaking finger and pointed at one person, pale countenance contorted in a menacing, spiteful expression. Sasuke glanced at her finger and then at her face; jade eyes tore through his will so ruthlessly, tearing him apart with all the hate she possessed in her fragile body.

"It was _his_!" Sakura spat, jabbing her finger at Sasuke. "HIS!"

Adrenaline pounded through constricted veins; her accusation hurt, the fact that he was always hurting her hurt him, the fact that it had been so long and she still couldn't stop being so damn nice and selfless to him, and that she showed no signs of ever letting him go. It hurt. That he had to watch every man that looked her way and get flustered when he couldn't make her problems go away.

It hurt.

That she could understand his needs and wants but she just didn't understand his feelings about her.

It hurt.

That he didn't know how he felt.

It hurt.

To feel.

In one fluid motion Sasuke snatched up the chair and threw it; Ino swore at him while Hinata ducked; it broke into pieces against the wall. The entire line of ANBU stiffened as he whirled around and grabbed Sakura by the shoulders, staring down at her.

"Let. Me. Go." Like a slap in the face, rejection.

"Not until I say something," he hissed, pushing her backward, one step at a time, matching the rhythm until her back hit the wall.

"You don't have the right," she spat, glaring up at him fiercely.

"Yes, I do," he countered. "What happened?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I want to know," he replied, taking one last step, nearly closing the gap. Hunching over her, he kept his hands latched onto her shoulders, still pressing her against the immovable wall behind her. "I want to know so I can...help."

Her fragile body went rigid beneath his touch and she abruptly latched her hands on the sides of his face, dragging her down to him so he could stare her in the eyes.

"You can't help. You really want to know what's wrong?"

Sasuke nodded the best he could with her fingers woven through his locks, holding his skull fast.

"DO YOU?"

"YES, SAKURA!"

"MY MOTHER IS DEAD, ALL RIGHT? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANTED TO KNOW? MY MOTHER IS _DEAD_!"

Silence is such a painful thing when pressed upon sensitive ears.

Hinata clapped her hands against her mouth as Ino let out a loud gasp; every other person in the room was rigid in awkward silence. The ANBU shifted uncomfortably as Kakashi lowered his head in silence, Kurenai still sitting with him, now with her arms wrapped around his chest.

"Now let me go," she snapped.

"..."

"LET ME GO, SASUKE!"

"...Who?..."

"YOUR BROTHER! YOUR _BROTHER_!"

Sasuke froze.

"My mother was murdered," Sakura spat; quite literally, her saliva flecked his face as she shoved him with two hands away from her; he finally let go of her shoulders. "_Murdered_...on your brother's orders."

With that she turned on her heel, lunged for the doorknob, and ran out of the room without any more pretense.

Tsunade swore and looked to the ANBU against the wall.

"Bring her back...god knows she's in no condition to be running around."

The ANBU disappeared without a word.

A loud sob caught everyone's attention; Ino slumped in her chair, face buried in her hands as her chest rose up and down in an uneven rhythm. Muttering unintelligible syllables, she stomped her foot against the tatami floor and squeaked in a pitchy, throaty tone. Berating herself.

**You believed me...**

**In every single lie...**

**But I, I failed you this time...**

Light blue eyes locked on the rigid, shaking form of Sasuke; abruptly Ino plunged her hand into Shikamaru's pocket and revealed a kunai. The avenger's back was to the blonde, and her eyes were lit with a dancing, toiling fire that made her seem insane. Shikamaru tried to wrest it from her but she threw it at his back, screeching.

"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

The strategist swore as the weapon hit its target with a dull sound; Sasuke rose his head but did not turn it left or right, not reacting to the potentially dangerous, now bleeding wound. Crimson cascading down his back, he shrugged slightly as Shikamaru grabbed his girls wrists' and held her into the chair as she screamed at the unresponsive shinobi.

"I can't believe they let you out of that room!"

A room of ivory walls.

"They should keep you there!"

Put away, like an animal.

"A SICK, TWISTED ANIMAL!"

"INO, SHUT UP!" Naruto snarled, dark blue eyes radiating with anger from his outburst. "Don't talk about things you don't know about!"

Ino's lip twitched. "Runs in the family, huh, Sasuke?"

One step. Two steps. Three, now four. A steady pace interrupted their arguing; he continued to walk evenly toward the door, head raised high, muscles moving normally, smoothly, as though the kunai protruding from his back was nonexistent.

Abruptly, something overtook him and forced him to run the last few feet to the door. He left.

And didn't look back.

* * *

**From the moment...You came into my life;  
You...you showed me what's right. **

Run.

_She's dead._

Ignore the raindrops pounding on deathly white faces.

Just run away.

_Murdered._

Bare feet. Flesh torn to pieces and once delicate feet calloused.

Calloused as her broken heart.

Care to touch a shard? It will not hurt for long.

_By him._

In one, infinitesimal moment, she learned the meaning of passionate hatred. It's so clear now, she doesn't understand why she hadn't been able to relate before.

_Murdered._

She doesn't exist anymore.

Run. Her feet pound through the glutinous brown liquid, formed by the raging storm, a symbolic coming from the very moment she forced her way into his life.

_This was meant to happen. Love at first sight, cursed at first sight._

Blackness swallows her petite, sickly white form, moving at breakneck speed with the fear of the world and the want of comfort following close behind. She's an easy target. Fate thought so too, hence the reason she's running still, running now.

_Gone._

Red and white and bruised all over. Physical wounds heal, and they're so pretty on her normally flawless skin, glowering in the dark and illustrating strength. Inside, a little sack tied with a nearly broken string; no, it is already broken, the shattered remains of her will, her love, her heart all strewn across an ebony tiled floor, but remember. It's not ebony. The inside of a broken soul is too dark to see.

And those little pieces tumble forever.

_Gone._

Which direction is up? Why is the sky blue? Why does she continue to put herself through this?

She couldn't imagine a world without him.

He's close behind now, running still through the wind that keeps pressing him back and giving him the worst time of it; it tells him that he's not strong enough, just as everything and everyone always has.

His insides have always been empty, but he never thought it would come to this; affecting the very definition of innocence, this angel that had always taken one step too many, pushed his buttons one too many times, gotten in the way...just once. Just one time too many.

They called him insane: And maybe he is. They said he's obsessive: Almost certain.

But emotionless? Heartless? Blasphemy to label 'truth'.

Trip.

Fall.

Splatter.

Let exhausted limbs sprawl, make her another stain.

Let him finally catch up to the one thing he has been chasing after for so long.

Let him know...it may be too late.

"Sakura."

His voice is meek and sensitive, barely a whisper in the thrashing tree limbs and torrential downpour, the winds that screech down at them and say "You don't deserve." Perfection is nonexistent. Pain is fallible. Forever.

He stood above her and stared down with heavy-lidded eyes, lids frozen from the beating of nature. The whole world loathes them. She remained sprawled on the ground, meant to seem ungraceful and beyond caring, but he thinks she's still beautiful. He still wishes he'd never let her in. He, beyond conscious and palpable thought, is sorry.

_Stand for me_, he willed silently.

Lightening streaked across the sky and swelling clouds and for one moment, defied natural order and transformed night into day. Her eyes were staring at him.

"Sasuke."

He loved the way she said his name; and through her hate, she still managed to make his name fall off her lips so sweetly. Like he mattered.

**I've never felt like this before... **

**Just when I leave I'm back for more...**

**Nothing else here seems to matter...**

He bent down and let the rain penetrate his skin. It was just a defense, after all. Like his words. Defense against Fate that seemed to loathe him so.

And now...her too.

Crouched over her frail little body he closed his eyes, for he did not want to look at her anymore, not at her eyes that held new, powerful emotions. He did not want to witness change.

Abruptly he lifted her from the muddy ground–

Stand on your own. Stand with me.

–She latched her frozen arms around his neck and pressed her delicate face against his collarbone, perhaps hoping for some sign of life. None was present. Arms so weak and shaking still managed to function, gently wrapping around her little waist; wind whipped at her thin choice of dress, the hospital nightgown that adorned her curvaceous figure pressed up against him. Cradling her backside, he kept her bare skin covered as he hunched over to shield her from the wind; being nearly a head shorter, she struggled to close the gap. No invitation; he could not find a way to keep her closer in the painful embrace; she turned her feet in slightly, rubbing one frozen toe over the other like a shameful child.

And in these ever-changing days...

You're the one thing that remains...

United they stood, keeping each other close in the silence that existed only between them. The world could not hear their conversation and they wanted it to be so, and no words ever had to pass frozen lips. A pillar. Remaining steadfast throughout.

Fingertips of the softest material known to man ran over the cold metal handle of the weapon protruding from his back. Exhausted, she whimpered as she tugged in vain, wishing she do something to take it out, to make his pain stop.

Although frigid sleet left them numb, Sakura shifted slightly in his tight embrace to press her lips gently against his chest.

For never and forever, they existed for each other.

"Sakura."

Run. Run away.

"S-Sasuke."

It was an effort to speak.

_Murdered. Gone. _

_Stand with me._

Their thoughts, for this moment, were intertwined with the other's.

Rain lashed at them, wanting them to break; eventually they did fall to weak knees and succumb effortlessly to the elements.

Syllables in whispered unison:

"We'll live."

_Together._

**I could stay like this forever...**

And so they did. Found in each other's arms, still unconsciously clutching their purpose, their reason for fighting.

That was how the ANBU officers found them.

Pausing to admire, not in any terrible hurry to move this illustration of devotion.

**Tonight.**

* * *

Please Review. Much Love. 


	28. One And The Same

Um, there's actually going to be thirty chapters. This ended up way too long and odd numbers tickle my OCD. XD

I'm going to start doing this every chapter for you guys:

Reviewers Chapters 18 thru 27: 

Flowerangel050, runwithskizzers, Laura-chan, Crystal Koneko, selfless, missysillivan, BlueyedBlonde (I LOVE YOU!), Valentine, inuyashagurl, DarknessFlameWolf, Market Rush, fightinsurfgrl, noobs desire, ms. Lizzie, sunny, The Lovely Decline, Missy Mee-Mee, Chizu, Bundyangel, nhix, sleepykittycat, Kansi-a-lari, Runlittlepiggy, Kineticfairy, JudgeGooby, bitterness, 4everDestined, bluehorned moon, I.Plead.Ignorance, narutoreader, ViOlEt-KAt, TooLazyToThinkOfName, Amoena Lilium, midgets rule the world, GunzGoBangg7, BlackStarAlchemist, katsuhito sage, Boshoku, dogdemoninuyashaandkagome, Kaiyuri, sasukeXsakura25, blackfphoenix, Hi, Devona, silver cherryblossom, bobalina, Ninaleoliona, anna, UchihaForever, Sapphire Serenity, animeismyname, Tish, aylish, yo, Shroud of Twilight, Little Japanime Girl, Mei fa-chan, Mr. Sandman, hopping-bunny (slayn-angel), Desperate, Neko-Uchiha.Mai, Nightwish26, Noodle-lub-Yooh, AvaAnna, Nish095081, you.broke.a.promise, Odat, and anonymous user 101.

Please read and review because if there is a button that says 'submit review' on it, chances are it's meant to be used.

* * *

**Chapter 28: One and the Same**

"_And swifter than late–summer dawn, it came,_

_The moment I realized...you were one and the same."_

_--_

If footfalls possessed the ability to ascend in the manner of whispers, so these, the very hesitant and cautious and careful ones, would do just that.

Restraint was requisite and while there were only two pairs of measured steps from two very solemn people, the silence that was suffocating the normally raucous household inadvertently forced every little sound to balloon without pretense. A shuffle here, a fidget there, a cleared throat and an occasional sniffle. Funny how, in the times of awkward serenity, roles reverse and it seems as though sounds are magnified just to implicate a culprit. An unnecessary culprit, for none was needed.

The disconcerting atmosphere was settled permanently in all present. In the sleeping and the aimlessly roaming, in the hearts and minds of the two wandering the wood floors in restlessness.

"...Kakashi-sensei?" His voice, while barely above a throaty whisper, pierced the calm and forced every invisible eye to focus.

Footsteps ceased and he must have nodded, for the young man continued, still addressing his former mentor as a superior out of respect and out of love. "Should we wake them up?"

A moment's silence can speak truer than the words themselves.

"It's just...I don't want them to be late and–"

"They won't be late," Kakashi assured in a strangely vacant voice.

"A note then? Should I–"

"No."

Naruto made a protesting noise, but soon succumbed to the inevitable silence.

Down the hallway he walked, struggling to keep his footfalls that of a mouse's, or a person meant to be missed, unheard; it did not work, and Kakashi hushed him in a rumbling murmur as the blonde stopped in the doorway of his friend's room and stood for a moment, just watching. Barely stepping over the threshold, he leaned forward slightly while his boyish features etched an expression of pity as he blinked slowly. Staring at his friend's back as it rose and fell evenly with each breath, muscles contracting slightly beneath his ebony shirt; the fibers of the symbol stretched delicately with the rhythm. Asleep.

A tender hand found the blonde's shoulder, squeezing firmly as he tugged him away, toward the hallway.

"Will they be all right, Kakashi–sensei?" Distraught: It was the second time in a minute had referred to his mentor with the suffix, with that same pleading sound.

Choosing not to answer, the gray–haired jounin sighed and coaxed him toward the hallway; Naruto stopped and grabbed the door frame with white knuckles.

"Naruto..."

"They'll be late!"

"_Naruto,_" Kakashi repeated, a bit more harshly than intended. Sighing again, he reminded, "You wanted to pick up Hinata."

For another moment, his former student surveyed his teammate with a faint glower, but eventually turned on his heel and stalked down the hallway, sweeping the back of his hand across his eyes quickly, an attempt at a disguise that did not work.

_Shinobi never show emotion._

Not bothering to muffle his footsteps, he stomped angrily down the hallway, down every step with contempt, and out the front door, letting it slam against the door frame and bounce open. Kakashi, however, gently eased it shut, letting the metal lock glide into place before following the young man down the street.

The lock clicked quietly and resonated throughout the house, seeming so very final in the stillness, and almost immediately a bell tolled ominously over the village; down every street it made heads rise from their mundane tasks and when it chimed it penetrated, forcing them to stir behind closed doors. Children looked to elder siblings and clung to parents with tiny, grasping hands...unruliness, they knew, would be wrong and out of place. Unacceptable.

And so the march began...

_And as one, we stand tall._

Perhaps it was the growing hum of hundreds of feet, moving in unnatural synchronization across the dirt roads. Perhaps it was the shutters of many a shop closing as one, or just the reverberating of the hundreds of hearts, beating together but masked by the steady march.

Whatever the sound was, it slowly trickled into the room in which Sasuke slept. He had not moved from his place, nor did he have any initiative to until the woman in his arms stirred.

The wind teased her pink locks gently, tenderly brushing them across her face; from the open window came the rhythmic beat of people, moving as a united mass, and maybe it was this alone that had awoken her. Eyebrows furrowed in permanent thought, delicate but abnormally pale features contorted in a sad expression. Pale, cherry lips parted slightly, she shrugged her shoulders to her neck and felt a calm, deep breath against her ear.

Her soft moan triggered his conscious and he was immediately awake, though not keen on opening his eyes or moving just yet; he was a light sleeper. Instead he let out another quiet sigh against her neck and let the arm that had been draped lightly around her small waist tighten a bit, bringing her body closer to his. The corners of her mouth twitched in what would have been a smile, though she was slower to come to than he; just now the surface of her warm skin became covered with bumps as it collided with the crisp, cold sheets.

That same gentle breeze passed over them once again, leaving Sakura to involuntarily shiver and burrow tenderly in his tight embrace, pulling her neck in a bit. While the sheets were rumpled and obviously used they were spread and pinned haphazardly beneath their intertwined bodies, no use as of now. A lock of hair that did not belong dangling in her vision swayed slightly. She blearily pulled her eyelids apart and focused on it for only a moment before closing them, nose scrunched in distaste at the vibrant sunlight pouring in through the open window. Nearly midday.

She had not known he was awake and moaned again as his cold teeth pressed against her neck, unconsciously roaming as his grip around her waist relented, fingers trailing upwards.

"Sas–u–ke..." Breathless, throaty syllables that did nothing but coax him to continue his teasing, lips brushing her skin, now not nearly as cold; practiced fingers lightly ran across her ribs. As if indecisive, they gently stroked the thin material covering her breasts and she felt him smirk against her neck, sharp enamel scraping gently. A moan escaped her lips that she attempted to muffle, to no avail, and his fingers began to toy with the buttons on her long shirt while he suppressed a weak tremor from affecting his own body. Dominance.

But as she unsuccessfully quelled another breathless gasp he roughly forced his knee between her warm thighs. He made an indistinct, quiet noise in his throat as she reacted by tightening her legs around his and letting her spine delicately curl against his body, unraveling each and every vertebrae against his hips and chest. A slight frown flitted across his handsome countenance and he involuntarily ground his hips against her back, pressing against her tailbone and forcing a low, intelligible mutter to tumble off her full lips. While the words were unheard, the mere sound of her pleasure poked at his insufferable masculine pride and his fingers deftly began to work the small buttons that held her chest: Calloused and experienced, they swiftly completed the simple task and now he slid his cold fingers underneath the material as her spine arched against him once again; she let the muscles of her shoulders completely relax as he continued to search her neck, sucking gently at the creamy skin. Removing his fingers from her open nightshirt, he let them trail softly across her naval, short fingernails catching occasionally until he found the bottom hem.

**Oh, sweet girl, remember...**

The noise that gurgled in her throat, a cross between a moan and a giggle of surprise, made Sasuke chuckle and take unexpected initiative; supporting his weight on his arms, he held himself above her and used one hand to shove her onto her back. Smiling slightly up at him, pink hair splayed for miles across the white pillow, she surveyed him through half–open lids that did not completely cover her jade irises. Eyes of liquid onyx stared predatorily down with a lopsided smirk that disappeared almost immediately as he raised an eyebrow and lowered himself, closer–

**And never forget...**

Lips brushed hers teasingly, the slightest taste, but in another moment he was latched on her neck with hungry teeth, preferring the scrape of enamel to the caress, at least at this point. If she minded, it was wasn't obvious as she pressed her head into the pillow and rose her face to the ceiling; he listened to her breath hitch in her throat at intervals when he hit a particularly sensitive nerve. She tried to wrap her arms around his neck but he let his weight fall upon her body and wrapped his fingers around both of her thin wrists, pressing them gently against the wooden headboard. Huffing quietly, she instead placed her shapely legs around his waist, bare toes brushing against one another as her thighs tightened around him–

**You will so regret...**

"Sasu–!"

Voice cut off ruthlessly; he ran his lips gently over the revealed skin from her unbuttoned nightgown and sucked her warm skin tenderly; her legs tightened again. Still incapacitating her wrists, he suppressed another weak tremorthrough his lower body, his quiet grunt nearly unheard while his messy locks brushed her bare chest. She writhed beneath his crushing body weight as his eager lips descended lower down her rising and falling breasts, biting her own lip roughly and quelling a whimper.

**Messing with me.**

"S–Sasuke," she moaned, arching her spine against him and tightening her grip around his waist, finally freeing one of her wrists and immediately weaving her fingers through his locks, so soft like silk. As her breathing staggered slightly, he murmured something indistinct against her skin and tugged on the loose opening of her long shirt buttons sliding easily through the holes, undone. Breathing shallowly, color high in his face he glanced up at her, marveling for only a second at how she looked withhalf–lidded eyes and her teeth clamping down on her lower lip to keep herself from uttering another sound.

Without further pretense he nudged the material away from her breast and nipped it gently, and her fingernails dragged lightly across his scalp.

"Again."

"What?" she said breathlessly, tilting her head down to inhale his intoxicating, masculine scent, burying her face in his hair.

He needed to hear it again. His name tumbling off her sweet lips without effort or thought, out of pure _want._

'**Cause she loves his touch,**

His fingers worked furiously with the rest of the buttons and the thin material slid open, revealing her chest in entirety along with her thin waist; now his tongue circled her nipple gently while she shuddered beneath him. The faintest sound of nails scraping on skin was heard in between their shallow breaths, her chest rising and falling against his collarbone. Letting her head fall back onto the pillow, she nearly let it slip again, lips twisted in an annoyed pout as he chuckled. He found it cute, the way she was trying so hard not to relent, but he wouldn't spare her such a wonderful pleasure.

"A_gain_," he hissed, flicking her nipple with his powerful tongue–

"Ohh, f–"

The piercing sound of cracking joints broke the quiet of the room as her toes curled tightly, almost masking the murmur of syllables that left her full lips.

**And it may be too much.**

"Did you_ curse _at me?" he inquired, seeming highly amused. Holding his weight off of her with one arm, the fingers of the other trailing down her sternum; he watched her raise an eyebrow, then let his eyes wander over her collarbone...there were a few more marks than he had remembered leaving upon her...

He gave a start as she trailed her small fingers down his muscular chest, looking up at him with seemingly innocent eyes, lips parted ever so slightly.

**This truthful claim...**

Pushing this thought from his mind, he roughly slid an arm around her waist and lowered his weight upon her, caressing her sensitive neck with his lips. She placed her delicate fingers against his flushed cheek and directed his gaze to hers, tenderly brushing strands of hair to stare at his glittering eyes, and...

–jade met onyx and–

"_Do you know why he loves you?"_

–those same dark eyes penetrated her, so deeply, drowning her–

"_Why he would rather die than admit it?"_

–and his grip created searing explosions, bruises pulsing on every inch of her tainted skin; every vertebrae of her spine was rendered immobile–

Locked in a memory with a nonexistent key.

"_Who are you?"_

–and a shudder wracked her body, and something inside forced her to react on impulse. From far away she heard herself shriek–

**SMACK!**

Flinching, he let her writhing body fall gently to the mattress, gritting his teeth as a wave of warmth and embarrassment washed over him completely. Tears stung his eyes from the unexpected slap, invisible and thoroughly transparent against the blankness. While he still kept his hand upon her waist, something inside of him, something small and fragile, was recoiling. Like a leaf, deprived of waterand curling upon itself for fear of breaking on the outside, causing damage to the inside.

Collapsing upon itself.

**We are one and the same.**

She was biting her lip again, in pain; her shaking hand covered her adrenaline–induced heartbeat on her pale chest as she let her legs gingerly slide off his waist.

"..."

"I–I'm sorry," she whispered meekly, averting her eyes as he glowered down at her, frustrated with his own puzzlement. Her jade gaze flickered to his hand, still resting on the gentle curve of her waistand then away as if she was remembering some memory, a memory she wished to forget.

To push to the back of her mind and bury for the rest of her life. A disgusting secret.

Sasuke didn't know or realize, but he was intelligent and easily put it together in his mind. He lowered his eyes, blinking slowly at the resolutely black bruises, decorating her waist and even her hipbones. Now, against her pearly white body, they seemed to stand out so obviously and he felt a rush of hatred toiling within his gut. He hadn't even _noticed_.

He didn't need to know what had happened to the minute details. He knew it by the look in her eyes.

Fear.

He jerked his hand away as though he had been burned and did not look at her as he carefully brought his leg over her, sliding off the bed in one fluid motion. Standing erectly, he held his breath; Sakura watched as he kept his back to her and the muscles of his back tensed.

"Sasuke?"

Her voice echoed tentatively in the silent room, and he effectively ignored her as he had done many times before. She would rather he grunt, mutter, anything; she'd rather he scream at her than leave her in a painful silence.

Just like every time, her heart suffered from one more wound.

"Sasuke!" she repeated, carefully sitting up and quelling a wince. "It's not your fault, I'm sorry, it just...you surprised me, is all!"

Silence. He knew she was lying through her teeth.

–_and my knees gave out, and he had me around the waist, and he was kissing me_–

She yearned to tell him, it was tearing her apart, but then realized what it would reduce him to. No. He couldn't handle something like that. It was bad enough, what he knew now; he could never know the extent.

"Sasuke, talk to me, please!" she pleaded. "Don't ignore me like this."

"Get in the shower. We're going to be late."

Sakura tilted her head slightly in her own confusion, fingers shaking as she slowly began to button her (his) nightshirt over her toned stomach. Eyes lowered to her task, the collar slid off her shoulder as she asked quietly, "For what? When did I get home, anyway?"

Clipped, staccato sentences were her only answer, harsh to her ears even coming from him. He moved about the room in a jerky fashion and managed to avoid her gaze. "Late last night. Tsunade kept you in intensive care through the night. All day yesterday and well into last night. We convinced her to let us bring you home. We have interrogations today. I was exhausted. You were exhausted. I put you in here–" Cutting off abruptly, he pulled a few articles of clothing from his drawers and slammed them shut. Sakura flinched.

"Thank you...for letting me stay in here and..." She plucked at the shirt, still unbuttoned and revealing her chest, though she didn't seem to mind as she slid off the bed and approached him cautiously. Stiffening, he remained expressionless and silent as she wrapped her arms around him from behind and embraced him tightly.

Voice littered with venom and hate: "...Get out."

Immediately recoiling, she folded her arms over her swelling bosom and dug her fingernails into her arm, listening to the people march outside, to the funerals that she would not be able to attendbecause she would have to instead speak with the man that had killed her mother.

But really, all was _so_ right with the world.

With a ruthless two–hand shove, her strength slammed him effectively against his chest of drawers and he put a hand against the mirror to prevent his face from hitting the glass. Out of the corner of his narrowed eye, reflected in the glass so dazzled with sunlight, he watched her pull his door shut a bit harder than necessary.

A hinge loosened and said 'tink' to the silence, metal clinking on metal, a little ending to the overwhelming beginning...

Of their suffering.

**And you said we weren't similar...**

**And you lied.**

* * *

Not one bird sung its song, not one child made its shrill voice heard among the masses.

Sunlight and cloudless skies created the ultimate mockery, the contradiction so unappreciated as some even dared to glare at the gorgeous, late–summer weather with discontent. They said 'how dare they?'. How dare beauty befall a place where the real beauty was slowly dying from the inside out. Where all the strings were loosening and convoluting like the wiry, scorched vines that were shedding themselves from the outside of the forbidden compound. Shedding, in finality, its tainted skin.

How would it be if they could all do the same? Even people?

Hands clasped between them, a couple walked in silence. There was nothing to say and nothing that could change all that had occurred, and even while his fingernails occasionally dug into her pale palms, she ignored the pain for him. She had always done anything she needed to, if only to make him truly happy.

She noticed his unusual silence.

"Naruto?"

For a moment he continued staring at the ground, not ignoring her on purpose, just lost in his thoughts. After a moment her meek inquiry hovered in the air, hoping for a response. He rose his head to look her straight in her white eyes. "Yeah?"

"A–are you okay?" _Because I know you are not. You're hurting inside._

Normal reactions and even his little quirky habits were delayed as she watched him brood for half a moment before tugging his hand loose from hers and linking his fingers behind his head, staring up at the blue blanket adorning the sky. His grin seemed genuine, yet a bit forced. "'Course I am, Hinata, don't worry 'bout me!"

While she wanted very much to believe his boyish smile and his twinkling, innocent eyes and his signature thumbs–up that he bestowed upon her, she couldn't. She knew he was covering it all up, just as she covered up her insecurities and her wants and needs at the expense of others.

His smile faded.

"It just seems like...like all of this is happening just...because. There's no reason, and all these people have been hurt, or worse, just...because. It's not normal for all these innocent people to die, but they are, and there's just...not a _reason_."

Hinata stopped walking as he did, bringing his feet together and letting his hands fall to his sides, staring out at nothing. He stood on his own, head held high as it always was, turned to the sun in hopes of something brighter just over the horizon, as if things would always get better. They _had_ to. The hope inside of him that rarely wavered even when faced with the impossible, and it never had a reason to keep burning, it just _did_. Unexplainable.

In her heart, she knew...that his hope kept her going too.

Tentatively, she nudged his hand with hers and ignored the flush sweeping her body so fiercely; she immediately attempted to stammer an apology. "S–sor–"

Naruto grinned and grabbed her hand tightly back, giving it a reassuring squeeze before saying "Ehh, don't be sorry Hinata, actually, I–hey, it's the teme and Sakura!" His attention span snapped to a different subject like a moth attracted to a porch light and left the poor girl hanging desperately as her mind toiled in a panic.

_Actually, I what? WHAT? _She asked herself, uttering a small squeak as he dragged her toward his teammates, sweaty fingers tightly linked with hers.

"Hey, teme," Naruto greeted cheerfully, only to be coldly shunned as Sasuke ignored him, quickening his pace, boots kicking up clouds of angry dust. The blonde then glanced behind him to see Sakura stalking furiously behind him, presumably following Sasuke.

"Sakura–chan?" he greeted warily, steering himself and Hinata away as Sakura's fist clenched angrily at her side, the sound of cracking joints echoing loud in the air. Teeth clenched, she did not so much as acknowledge his presence, jade eyes mere slits in the sunlight and glowering at the Uchiha's back. If Naruto hadn't known better, she may have been trying to melt the emboldened symbol right off.

While he was used to being ignored and used as a punching bag or the recipient of indirect anger, his cerulean eyes seemed to cloud a bit.

Tsunade and a squad of six ANBU looked up as Sasuke stepped over the threshold, his towering figure appearing a bit more ominous than usual. From a row of chairs, Shikamaru and Ino silently looked at him but did not speak, barely inclining their heads in a civil greeting that the raven–haired shinobi did not return. The strategist rolled his eyes at his childish behavior and clearly illustrated his dislike of Sasuke's attitude, but before any blood could rise between them Sakura shoved him forward, into the room and out of her way.

"Good morning, Tsunade–sama," she greeted with a prim smile that did not reach her eyes. Tsunade raised an eyebrow and surveyed her apprentice with a piercing gaze, knowing that Sakura was quite liable to lose her temper over anything. She made a mental note to have the ANBU confiscate her weapons so she did not kill the prisoner she would be interrogating, and also (scribbling this all on a clipboard), to be safe, she would take Uchiha's katana from him as well.

"Take a seat, and don't break my chairs this time," Tsunade ordered, still writing and not sparing them a glance. Not after the show they'd had two days before.

Sakura obediently took the second to last seat in the row, but Sasuke folded his arms and said clearly: "I'd rather stand."

Sighing, the Sannin nodded to an ANBU against the wall and shot the young man a glare. Hazel eyes bored into onyx ones, and Sasuke stiffened as the shinobi removed his katana and weapons pouch from his waist; Sakura relinquished hers without provocation.

"It wasn't a request, Uchiha."

Sasuke turned on his heel and threw himself dramatically into the chair at the end, staring straight ahead at the wall while Sakura scratched at her neck absentmindedly.

The jounin arrived along with Naruto and Hinata, still holding hands and unnaturally quiet; well, Naruto, at the very least. Glancing warily at Sakura, he took the seat next to her and continued to look from her to Sasuke. Ino leaned forward to glance too, suddenly interested in perhaps whatever Naruto and now Shikamaru were looking at. Sakura glared back and they averted their eyes, but as soon as she looked at something else, they were back to studying her as if she were a science experiment. She either didn't notice or did not care, but Sasuke did.

Naruto swivelled his head to look at Ino and leaned across Hinata to ask in a quiet voice (unfortunately, Naruto's 'quiet' voice was actually a loud whisper), "What's on her neck?"

"Knock it off," Sasuke snapped, leaning forward angrily and clenching the armrests with white knuckles.

Sakura let out a facetious sigh and drawled, "Well, that's what I _get_ for letting you take me to bed."

Sasuke glared at her, features contorted into an ugly grimace. "Tch, don't blow it out of context."

Hinata's eyes went round as Ino clapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her snort of laughter while Naruto continued to look extremely puzzled. Tsunade let her face fall into her hand.

Sakura murmured something indistinct, causing Sasuke to shove his face into hers and snarl, "_What _was that? Why don't you say it? I'm sure_ they'd_ love to hear."

Rising to his bait, she touched her nose to his, nostrils flaring angrily. Before she could form a retort, he continued–

"And how many times did you say my name, _Sakura_? He asked; his eye was so swollen his eye was nothing more than a slit that glared at her intensely, watching, waiting, for her reaction. "And then why did I get _this_?" He demanded, tilting his head slightly to further reveal the extent of her slap. Cringe. A murmur rippled through the young shinobi and Kakashi gave Tsunade a significant look that the Sannin chose to ignore. "Maybe I should have let them keep you here–"

"Shut up!" Naruto interjected, glancing at the look on Sakura's face, her pretty features slowly contorting into somewhat of a grimace, marred by the welling, angry tears in her eyes.

"Or maybe she thinks I'm a murderer too, is that it?"

The medic's lips grew thinner as she pressed them together, not speaking. Her anger was rising; limbs shook violently as the color slowly drained from her face.

"_Is_ that it, _Sakura_?" His words rolled off the tongue fluidly and mockingly, spoken to strike a nerve, to hurt. His frustration was prodding him to goad her more than he had ever provoked someone in his entire life, he wanted her to confess what had happened, he wanted her to tell him every little detail for no other reason than to rage and feed his hate towards Itachi.

A vicious sneer. Lip curling in satisfaction at the thought that this would make her snap, he hissed, as minacious as a snake:

"Does he _taste_ better than I do?"

Her back left the chair; she seemed to possess the epitome of speed and her hands were already around Sasuke's neck as she slammed his body to the floor: Naruto immediately tried to restrain her to no avail, and Ino shoved Hinata away and strained to pull her friend off of the Uchiha, though he really deserved his beating. The ANBU did not move, awaiting orders from their superior, and Tsunade waited a few seconds before letting them intervene.

Transparent skin stretched grotesquely over white knuckles as she squeezed his windpipe and shook him back and forth, thankfully not in the state of mind to use chakra; he would be dead if she had. The ghost of a smirk was still visible in his quickly darkening face, surpassing red and now, maroon, and she screamed nonsensical syllables down on him as the ANBU restrained her–

Her last blow before being dragged off was painful. All in the vicinity flinched as she slammed his skull against the wooden floor, showering his blue face with salty tears. Arms behind her back and held tightly, she thrust her chest out and fought tooth and nail to get to him, letting the officers twist her wrists until one snapped loudly. Closing her jade eyes, the pain seemed to force her into submission as her knees hit the floor, and the ANBU released their grips as she slid to the cold wood in an ungraceful heap.

Silence so thick you could taste it in the air, aside from her heaving sobs as Sakura brought her knees to her chest and seemed to collapse upon herself. Kakashi kneeled next to his student and did not speak as he assessed her minor injuries, noting the already calming heartbeat. Something twitched beneath the dark folds of his mask as he seemed to look through her, and he raised his head to look at Tsunade. The blonde Sannin pursed her lips, then looked to Sasuke, who was still lying on his back, struggling to keep his breathing under control, glaring up at the ceiling with watery eyes.

"Squad three, please escort Hyuuga and Uzumaki to their interrogation cell," Tsunade barked abruptly, shattering the silence. The pale girl jumped as her name was called. A pause. She stared down with a troubled, pitiful look at the couple on the floor.

"_Now_," she snapped forcefully, and Hinata immediately sprung up from her chair and bowed quickly, uttering an apology. "Yes, Tsunade–sama..."

"And Yamanaka, Nara," she added, indicating they follow as well. With frightened glances and careful maneuvering around the shinobi on the ground, silent and unresponsive, the four young ninja left.

As the door shut behind them, Sasuke sat up and swallowed; bruises were already forming on his flushed neck, and Kakashi towered above him ominously, arms folded. Tsunade rounded the desk and dropped to her knees at her student's side, shaking her head slowly and not touching the pale girl, whom was overcome with involuntary shakes.

Sasuke glanced at her.

She ignored him, wide jade eyes glassy as they stared straight ahead, cheek flat against the cold floor.

"Why did you provoke her?" Kakashi inquired in his calm, lazy voice. A hint of anger ruined his desired affect.

"Were you two arguing earlier today?" Tsunade demanded, glowering at the both of them, placing a hand on Sakura's arm–

"NO!" Sakura screeched, shrinking away from her sensei's touch and curling herself tighter, tears falling thick and fast upon the wood, magnifying the patterns in the round drops.

"She seems traumatized," Kakashi said in a low, serious voice, jaw set as he surveyed his former student, his favorite, with angry eyes. "Did she retain damage from the incidents in the compound?"

"The bruises on her body weren't identifiable," Tsunade replied, biting her lip as she racked her mind for an answer.

"Mentally!" Sasuke spat, glaring at Sakura's shuddering form.

"From?" The adults demanded in chiming unison.

"..." He couldn't answer, and felt a scorching, burning sensation erupt under his ribs, stilting his vision as his head swam with newfound dizziness. Anger and guilt. Clutching his chest, he swallowed and struggled to form the name he so hated, but–

"U–Uchiha Itachi."

Her lips were cracked and dry. She ran her tongue over them to moisten them. It didn't work.

Sasuke closed his eyes as her whisper echoed like a gong in his head, forever trapped in the empty space. He hated it.

Sakura licked her lips again. "He said he didn't understand me. Now, _I _don't understand. What could there _be_ to understand?" she asked the silent room, tugging on the sleeve of her own shirt. "He said he'd find me out. He–"

"Did he physically harm you in any way other than hand–to–hand combat?" Tsunade asked gently. Kakashi glanced at Sasuke as the young man stiffened. The words hurt, and they were the nicest possible way to ask about...

"Does forceful kissing count as harm?" she asked monotonously, blinking slowly to propel two more tears down her pale face.

Her words left her teachers stunned and Sasuke wounded.

"You didn't tell me this in the original medical report," Tsunade sputtered, gazing down at her student disbelievingly.

"What does it matter?"

"What do you mean 'what does it matter?'" Sasuke snapped, folding his arms across his burning chest and struggling not to shake. "Damn it, Sakura, he hurt you and you lied about it! You lied to the doctors and you lied to _me_!" he yelled, slamming his fist against the floor. He didn't know what to do with his hands, and eventually they were out in front of him. They were watching him, and he was watching them shake, wringing in paranoia.

"Tell me why you lied," Sasuke hissed, staring at his vibrating fingers.

Sakura blinked once, slowly. "Because...I didn't want to hurt you."

"_You're_ the one who was hurt here, not me," he shot back, clenching his fingers into fists. "And what if he'd done worse?"

"God, Sasuke, because this is killing you inside, and I know it's true. You're so frustrated and angry because you haven't been able to prevent protecting me."

Sasuke bit his lip as she finally pulled herself off the floor, kneeling across from him but avoiding looking him in the eye. Compared to the effects of her towering temper, now she seemed small and delicate, and just so fragile. Like she was falling apart on the inside and out and she wanted help, but she didn't want to admit it and neither did he, and she seemed to sway like a twig in the wind and all of a sudden, she really was swaying–

His face was in its permanent, gentle shadow as she fell against him lightly, nothing more than a frail, broken little girl. It was sad, and the worst part of it was that she had hoped to fall in the strongest arms, enveloping her in warmth and protection but it wasn't what she received. For when she was held against him, his body was shaking with what she considered sobs, but he would lie and call it frustration.

He was so weak. So broken. At a loss.

And he needed her too.

"Don't let yourself hurt for me, Sasuke–kun...I'm _not _worth it."

But he had her in a tight grip once again that caused a bit of pain, though really, what was love _without_ pain?

Resting his chin on her shoulder, staring down at the floor–

**Hold on to me, never let me go...**

And his words were lost in the ringing silence, a confession of the emotionally broken...

"You are."

* * *

She stopped.

Naruto seemed extremely concerned as he stared at her shaking form, her white eyes glinting in the dancing flicker of the brass torches, flooding the narrow passage with undeserved light. Long blue hair cascading down her shoulders, fine and straight and framing her pale face.

"Hinata?"

"Naruto," she whispered hoarsely, eyes widening.

"You can do this," he reassured, taking her hand as he had before, clasping it and feeling the sweat soaking her small palm. He'd never admit he wasn't exactly confident in the fact that they were about to interrogate two S–ranked criminals that were said to go toe–to–toe with the Akatsuki and rumored to be more dangerous than that. Forcing himself to grin, he tugged her along with him, keeping her at his side.

One ANBU remained stealthily behind as the officer in front of them unlocked the heavy metal door; the masked shinobi held it open easily for them as they stepped cautiously into the room.

_I can do this._

Two figures cut ruggedly through the dim light: One was obviously hunched over the table, snoring obnoxiously, but the other stared out of the blackness. Her profile was softer, but the intensity of her eyes set even Naruto on edge as Hinata seemed to shrink, body folding like paper into a smaller target, a smaller person.

"You're so..._weak_," the young woman commented bluntly, blinking slowly and demurely, a deer observing approaching people. Poor Hinata resembled a deer in the headlights as the snide comment echoed in the silence, clashing with the sound of the heavy door slamming shut of its own accord.

Gulping, she stepped forward and let her fingers slide out of Naruto's, now able to view the girl in the light, and her breath hitched in her throat. Naruto ran up and stopped in shock at the similarities. The same eyes. Near identical noses and the only difference in the face was the more prominent jawline in the prisoner's.

"Y–you?" Hinata whispered, clutching at her heart.

"Me."

Hinata's hand tightened around her opposite arm. Squeezing. A dead giveaway of her reluctance.

The prisoner was draped lightly and gracefully in her chair, feet crossed and resting upon the table near her blonde companion. Hinata bit her lip and Naruto glanced warily as an unfamiliar nurse toyed with a syringe in her long fingers.

Hinata stared at Hanabi Hyuuga intensely.

At her sister.

* * *

"Sakura."

"We can't talk about this now. We have a job to do."

Even in the darkness of their secluded space, she could still see his eyes. Black. Against black. Shrouded in black.

"Please, don't worry about me–"

She didn't need to see. This was his dwelling and his mask. Here he could show her how worried he really was. He didn't have to lie.

Not in a pitch–black closet.

Firmly but not painfully tight, his fingers gripped her upper arms and pressed her gently against the door; she inhaled sharply, apprehensive. As if he was skeptical, he ran his fingers down her bare arms, kneading her skin with the base of his thumbs.

"I can handle this, Sasuke."

Pale faces still bore signs of tears. Someone was tapping their foot outside the door, and the only light came from the thin space, between the door and the floor. Not enough to see his expression. Enough to remind them they were alive.

She moaned quietly as he pressed his face against her neck, inhaling her scent. He'd gotten a taste and now he wanted, he _needed _more.

"Be careful," he murmured, trailing his lips across her flushing skin.

"Sasuke," she whispered again, letting him trap her body against the door; she wove her fingers through his shirt and pulled his weight against her. Her voice was a gentle flutter in the silence as she said, "I'll be with _you_. I'll be safe."

He pulled away slightly and could make out her expression in the blackness. So sincere.

She let out a quiet cry of surprise as he slipped an arm around her waist, treating her like the finest china. As if she would break at the slightest forceful touch. The calloused fingers of his free hand ran over the small bones protruding from her thin wrist.

"My wrist is fine," she said quickly. "I mended it."

He nodded, then touched his forehead to hers.

"Once we're done..."

She tilted her head and captured his lips gently, tasting him, completely enveloped for one blissful moment in his masculine scent, that sentient of safety he seemed to provide. Every syllable was spelled out so carefully for him to not only hear, but to feel:

"Then...we'll...talk."

And then the knob turned–

Sasuke's weight effectively knocked Sakura to the sea–green tile. She had been leaning against the door and she had no way to keep herself upright when Kakashi had opened it. Now, struggling to catch her breath, she stared up at him, slightly perturbed at his bluntness, not to mention that he was second in line only behind Naruto for the title of 'moment–killer'.

"Are you two ready?"

"Ready to give _you_ a swift kick..." Sakura trailed off, clamping her teeth upon her tongue to stifle her sarcastic remark; she nodded. Sasuke carefully rolled off of her and lent her a hand to help her up, falling into a brooding silence as they followed the tall jounin through the quiet corridors. Strangely quiet. While Kakashi was not, as was usual for him, reading one of his books, he did earn two piercing glares on his back when he muttered, "Amazing what five minutes in a closet will do..."

Within five minutes they were in the labyrinth of dungeons beneath the hospital floors, nearing the door at the end. Top security. Two ANBU were flanking the entrance and nurse, Marlena, smiled a bit too easily as they came to the door.

Kakashi looked back at his students one last time. Sasuke stared at Sakura intensely, who returned his gaze with a small smile, and the tall jounin went through the doorway close behind the friendly nurse–

**SCHOOM.**

Sakura let out a scream of surprise as the entire structure around them seemed to be tossed around, as if there was an earthquake; she threw her arm out for support and rushed forward to find Kakashi, whom had already crossed the threshold into the room, but Sasuke yanked her back as his eyes widened–

Like coils of ebony rope piled upon one another: Undulating, thick and ominous, they coiled around Kakashi's body and smothered the jounin easily while the nurse watched with a twisted little smile, and two figures emerged and watched Kakashi struggle. It rose its majestic head, and at full height it was only inches from the ceiling of the cavern.

A woman with straight red hair rested her weight on one hip and observed the scene without speaking, not even sparing the two young shinobi a glance. They were standing transfixed in the doorway, rooted to the spot by shock, watching the serpent hiss and coil and slither across the floor, intent on grinding every bone of Kakashi's to dust.

She snapped her fingers, and Sakura screamed as her sensei's roars echoed in the little dungeon, eyes drawn to the ominous snake, hissing so viciously in a sick little song as it took pleasure in killing her teacher. Reaching for her hip, she realized she had no weapons and threw herself forward, screeching, but Sasuke dragged her back and held her tightly.

"Good idea, to keep your little girlfriend under control," the woman drawled, cold beryl eyes surveying them with interest.

"Be polite," her husband said silkily, smirking slightly behind his dark locks. He stared directly at Sakura, through her soft jade eyes that were so similar to his wife's, and yet so different in terms of warmth, of humanity.

"Oh Sakura..." he continued, speaking to her softly, contradicting the frigid, devilish grin on his face. "You look...just like your mother."

* * *


	29. Crumble

Oh geez...second to last chapter. Thank god there is a sequel. I feel sad about it. I'm so grateful to all of you.

To make this easier to understand...Sasuke and Sakura are interrogating the two prisoners (the woman and man from Chapter...I want to say, 12?), who were under Itachi's leadership. They are now captured. Sasuke and Sakura will be impersonating them in Part II. Hinata will be acting as Hanabi (her sister, who also was in league with Itachi), and Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru will be undercover as well. There.

**Thanks, reviewers:** xHitokiri-Elektrax, HyperMM, animeismyname, Jester08, sasukeXsakura25, TooLazyToThinkOfName, BlueyedBlonde, missysillivan, you.broke.a.promise, Mei fa-chan, TentenPanda, runwithskizzers, Tishni, BlackStarAlchemist, XyoushaX, Kineticfairy, flowerangel050, and Noodle-lub-Yooh.

* * *

Chapter 29: Crumble

_You know he couldn't see  
That she could be his everything-  
Bringing light to everything now,  
Oh!  
She just wants to  
Fall in love again.  
She's broken like an angel..._

_--_

His pleas were vain.

Helpless little whines, drowned in the roaring tempest that toiled in her ears. While she heard his name, felt his tight grip straining and then his hands reaching and grabbing for her as she struggled to get free–

Vision swimming; a hazy layer of red distorted the dimly lit dungeon as the medic pried herself free from Sasuke's frantic grasp and stumbled forward, bringing her powerful fist back to touch her opposite shoulder before slamming it into the stone.

Instantaneous: The entire structure shuddered violently as stones freed themselves and fell heavily to the floor as thick smoke billowed from nowhere, dust creating a thick fog that choked the mind as well as the body. Blinded, Sakura threw herself to the right with her fist ready to jab the next living thing within her grasp, squinting through the debris. She was suffocated in a powerful whirl of sounds; the dim lights in the dungeon exploded, plunging it into absolute darkness; the red-headed woman was cursing up a storm and something flitted across her ankle–

The medic rose her fist and blindly slammed it into the ground while trying to quell her racing heartbeat as the viscid liquid set her hair on end. Disgustingly chilly, left by whatever had just slithered across her foot, she pulled her knuckles from their cradled dent in the stone floor and swung–

Just air.

"Stay there!"

Sasuke's harsh, commanding voice sliced through the confusion; though Sakura wasn't sure whom he was yelling at she decided to not take any chances. Tensed, slowly revolving on the spot, stepping carefully in a circle around her own feet, ready for whatever or whomever was to come.

The medic let out an audible gasp with an accompanied shudder as the unknown being brushed her ankle, a very light poking sensation sending goose bumps up her perspiring leg. Mind running wild, she considered reaching down to choke it, crush it, even if she couldn't see it, until she heard its faint mantra through the constant thud of falling bricks...

It was hissing.

Breath caught in her throat, Sakura's body went rigid as it swiftly coiled up her calf and well past her knee, hissing sadistically as it tasted her nervous perspiration with what seemed to be glee. Shuddering violently, she licked her dry lips, then looked to the ceiling as a shrill screech sounded through the black abyss. Sakura swallowed and looked down at the serpent spiraling up her body as if she were a pole, hissing in delight as it tasted her here and there, and her heartbeat was hovering on the same frantic beat, over and over–

"Got you," Sasuke spat, from somewhere to her left. Settling comfortably around her slim waist, the snake was simply acting like an adornment and not the thing keeping her captive, which was what Sasuke had conjured it to do. In another second, vibrant oranges and reds erupted in the darkness and were funneled into the empty brass chandelier hanging from the ceiling, that luckily had not fallen.

Sasuke's lips were pursed from using his jutsu to light the room, but now they fell into a delicate, pretentious curl as he kept his hand outstretched toward the man controlling the black serpent, still holding their sensei in a bone–crushing grip.

"Bastard," the woman muttered, tossing her straight red locks over her shoulder and narrowing her eyes at the Uchiha. He seemed satisfied with her anger.

Sakura shifted slightly to see the red–head also donning a white snake, coiled and latched to her tall frame, though unlike the one around the medic it was slowly tightening its grip. Her outburst coaxed the reptile to drag its pointed fangs across her pale neck and caress it almost lovingly while Sasuke glared at her, then turned his attention to the man, still standing stock–still with his hand raised to control the serpent.

"Drop him," Sasuke ordered quietly to the man, and then nodded at the redhead. "Or your wife will be returned to you in_ pieces_."

Eyes locked on eyes of the same tunneled darkness, staring the other down with powerful intensity as the ivory reptile continued to tighten around the less than ecstatic wife; she glared at her husband as his eyes drifted casually away from Sasuke and rested, with an unnerving flash, on Sakura.

"Don't look at her," Sasuke hissed, tapping his fingers in a stilted, uneven pace against his thigh, lips in a thin line. The man obeyed, but not before giving the medic a lopsided smirk that struck a nerve somewhere inside; Sakura's lips twitched slightly, revealing gritted teeth for only a second before Sasuke gave her a look of warning that stated quite clearly to keep her mouth shut.

An abrupt noise erupted in the tense silence and Kakashi was gone, nothing but a log left in it's place. A loud screech sounded in the dungeon, obviously coming from the now thrashing serpent. Uncoiling, the black reptile hissed viciously and streaked across the tile in a panic, positively spitting as it rose it's head and turned a milky–white eye, obscured by blindness, on Sasuke. Kakashi appeared behind the male prisoner and knocked him to the floor with one arm as the white snakes holding the women disappeared.

Sakura sprinted toward the redhead as Sasuke effectively dodged a blow from the black serpent, whom was thrashing its head violently, spitting and jerking as though its body was coursing with powerful jolts of electricity. Kakashi had secured the prisoner and Sasuke parried each blow from the snake as it seemed to become incapacitated by its ruthless seizures, swinging its head and tail blindly. Furious shrieks echoed in the dungeon accompanied by a distinct smashing sound and the red–headed woman's body flew past Sasuke so close that drops of her blood spattered on his face. Blinking once, he took a step back to let Sakura rush past him, fist poised to jab the woman one more time, perhaps to finish her off.

He hoped she remembered they had to be _alive_ for an interrogation.

Sasuke blinked quickly, letting Sharingan activate: Tunneled, bloody eyes and defined pupils carefully followed and evaded the serpent's tail. Still swinging blindly, it let out a high–pitched whine as it stretched its head to the ceiling, swayed, and seemed to be at the end of its tether.

He sighed in annoyance and stepped back, not reacting as the black mass of scales and coils rocked from side to side and eventually crumpled to a lifeless pile at his feet that effectively shook the dungeon. Staring silently down at the snake, he reached forward and used the base of his thumb to gently lift the eyelid; that same eerie, swirling white eye stared back at him.

"You blinded it," Sasuke commented as the gray–haired jounin walked up with the prisoner in his grasp. The man was conscious but bloodied, glaring at Sasuke, whom let his Sharingan fade and kicked a limp coil out of his way, walking towards Sakura.

The kunoichi lifted the redhead off the ground and forced her to her feet, seething and spattered with crimson; the woman tottered and spat a gob of blood on the ground, and for her attitude she earned a shove in the back that forced her neck to jerk painfully.

"Now walk," Sakura spat, sweeping the heel of her hand across a cut above her eye, features contorted in a grimace. As they headed for the overturned table at which they would sit, she muttered savagely under her breath, to Kakashi, "_Great _false alarm."

Sasuke set the table upright easily and remained standing as Kakashi steered the man into a chair across from Sakura, while Sakura roughly shoved the woman into the available spot with her lips pursed. The jounin stepped back and nodded to Sasuke, who took his seat and faced the female prisoner. Her startling green eyes stared through him as he surveyed her face with interest and slight satisfaction...

_She's lucky she has a face left._

When the medic cracked her knuckles menacingly, the redhead directed her gaze away from the handsome shinobi sitting across from her lest she earn another broken bone. Goodness knows her nose wasn't _supposed _to look as though someone had taken a heavy saucepan to it.

Leaning back in her seat, Sakura unearthed a bright green pen and tapped it impatiently on the table, as if waiting for a superior to tell her to begin. Kakashi, however, was only present for security reasons, and he had certainly had his fill with the couple in their first interrogation.

"Names?" she asked quietly, though Sasuke noticed her stiff, almost emotionless resolve. Poised, the tip of the vibrant green pen hovered over the paper, shaking only slightly as she waited for them to answer. Their mocking silence was already testing her patience.

"Sakura Tenshon."

"Sasuke Sugiyama," the man answered, fixing his dark eyes upon Sakura; she raised the clipboard a little higher and shot him a venomous look over the top of it, tapping her foot impatiently under the table.

"Ages?"

"Twenty–six."

"Twenty–eight."

Sugiyama continued to stare intently but she ignored him, the sound of the pen taps echoing in the silence, each time it touched the paper. Behind the clipboard, her hand shook as it flew, creating words to fill the resolutely empty black lines, and Sasuke watched with a stony expression.

He didn't want her to have to do this.

"You have admitted to assisting in the murder of–"

"You speak of your own mother so formally?" Sugiyama interjected, casually linking his fingers together and resting them upon the table.

"This is relevant, how?" Sakura demanded, placing the clipboard in front of her. "And that trick you pulled...I wouldn't do it again."

"I agree," the man concurred with that obvious pretense of using sarcasm. "You almost brought the place down."

The medic bristled at his insult, face impassive as she tried not to let his attitude bother her. Moving swiftly to the next subject, she picked up the clipboard and flipped the thick stack of paper over the top of it, eyes scanning the page for the required questions.

"Was your leader, Uchiha Itachi, responsible for the attack on the children a few weeks ago?" Sakura inquired sharply.

A genuine look of confusion flitted across his face, but Sugiyama set his attitude in stone as he remained silent for a moment just to irk her, then smirked. "No."

She saw the puzzlement. Her questions were shot steadily in rounds and he replied with single syllable answers.

"Have you ever heard, from any member of the organization, your leader or otherwise, the name Inuzuka Kiba?"

"No."

"Aburame Shino?"

"No."

Sasuke glanced at the list she was reading from and noticed the next name was highlighted in red.

"Hyuuga Neji?"

Sugiyama blinked. "No."

Sakura smirked and stuck a green check mark next to the name, then placed the clipboard in her lap. "You've been lying."

"That's a fairly bold statement, Sakura," he replied cooly, folding his arms across his chest in an unconsciously defensive manner that the kunoichi caught easily. She had him. Sasuke remained silent but was slightly annoyed at the way the man said her name, with that subtle caress as though he had met her before or had any right to speak to her. The redhead kept her head down and hands in her lap, silent, biting her lip. She had no prowess at disguising her emotions and the nervous shaking that was wracking her entire body was proof enough; she knew they were cornered.

"So you were part of the retaliation attack on that Mission up North, Black Castle," Sakura stated firmly, her pen tapping in the familiar rhythm as she recorded the details. "Did you participate in the attack?"

"No–"

"Remember Akimichi Chouji?"

"I–"

"You should. Your blood was found on what was _left_ of his corpse," she pressed, voice low and wavering slightly as she added, even quieter. "Pieces of him...were scattered_ everywhere_."

A terrified squeak pierced the tense atmosphere and all eyes were on his wife. While her frame was tall and lean at full height, she resembled a child being forcefully scolded as her thin fingers twisted around each other and she rocked, back and forth, jade eyes dulled and staring at the corner of the table. "Under my fingernails...I picked up a piece of him and..." she trailed off, face beginning to crumple as she shuddered violently at the thought of the young boy's flesh, impacted under her perfectly manicured nails.

"And you were almost caught," Sakura continued, turning her attention away from Sugiyama and fixing her gaze on the woman.

"The blonde girl...I remember her expression and we fled before we...and she never saw us, but her mouth was open...and we–"

"You massacred her teammate_ right in front of her_," Sakura snarled. "I was one of the people putting him back together like a fucking puzzle!" Sasuke watched her intensely. Those jade eyes held not an ounce of warmth or pity for the woman she stared down, a lioness ready to jump at the chance to tear her apart. Verbally, she did. "And Kiba? You dealt with him personally, Tenshon," she accused loudly, leaning over the table and glaring at the now cowering redhead; Kakashi shot Sakura a look of warning, for she was becoming too personal with the details. "Your nail marks slashed right through him, and the poison was a torturous, slow–acting venom. You wanted him to _suffer_. Like an animal yourself, playing with your prey before watching it _die._ When Akamaru licked his master's wounds, in a vain attempt to heal them, the poison killed the dog too."

Sakura bit her lip, fingers clenched into a shaking fist as her nails dug crevasses into her white palm, but her eyes remained cold as she watched the redhead slump forward onto the table and cover her head.

"Shino's insects were somehow made to turn against their host body and attack him mercilessly, eating away at the very flesh that was their vessel. A genjutsu, a very powerful one, and that, again, was _you!_" Sakura slammed her fist on the table for emphasis and Sasuke felt his stomach lurch nauseously at the thought, a look of pure, unrefined disgust gracing his handsome, shadowed features.

Looking at Tenshon with disgust, Sakura sat back in her chair and turned her frigid eyes onto Sugiyama. "So. What did _you _do with Neji?"

Barely acknowledging the fact he had been personally addressed, the dark–haired man let his smirk play on his lips as his eyes roamed the medic's face hungrily. Sasuke's glower burned on the side of his face and Kakashi muttered, "Answer the question."

"Nothing."

"But you know who did."

"Maybe."

"You do."

"Tell her, Sasuke–kun," his wife whimpered, clinging to his sleeve. Sakura swallowed noticeably at the familiar name, but she continued to glare at Sugiyama, whom returned her angry expression with that annoying, smug grin.

"A different member of our team came forth and took custody."

"And the name of this member?"

"Hyuuga. Hyuuga Hanabi."

A connection immediately struck the Uchiha and he shared a significant look with Kakashi as Sakura scribbled the name in minute writing next to Neji's highlighted name.

"Do you have any connection, indirect or otherwise to the murder of Sarutobi Asuma?"

Pause. "Never heard of him," Sugiyama said firmly. Sasuke watched Sakura for signs of seeing through his words, but after a long moment she documented his answer and nodded.

As the kunoichi flipped through the records and evidence, Sasuke kept his eye on the dark–haired man diagonal from him, whose eyes were glittering in such a reminiscent manner that he was annoyed with himself. Comparing himself to this pathetic excuse for a man made him feel tame and considerably stable.

"So, Sakura–"

"Don't talk to her," Sasuke interjected roughly, cutting across the prisoner's sultry demeanor.

"Considering she is my interrogator, it is quite impossible for her _not_ to speak to me," Sugiyama retorted silkily, a bit amused at the scowl on the Uchiha's face. The latter's eyes were now red and eerily crimson, radiating hatred so obviously that Kakashi shot him a look of warning.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" the prisoner muttered, lowering his head and sneering up at Sasuke, eyes glittering; the medic stared warily at her teammate's profile, his expression contorted into a hostile glare. The tiny muscles in the bridge of his nose were tense as his jaw became extremely rigid; he was clenching his teeth so tightly that his teeth were scraping across each other, enamel grinding against more of the same.

"Sasuke. Step back."

His head whirled around and his acrimonious glare did not intimidate his former teacher in the slightest. It never had. Kakashi nodded and Sasuke made quite a dramatic show about it, shoving his chair unceremoniously from the table and slamming it loudly as he pushed it back. Silent commands from the gray–haired jounin echoed in his mind, a vexing mental barrage that gave the Uchiha a strong desire to break something, or someone.

_Don't lose your temper, Sasuke._

To further prove his point, Kakashi walked silently around the table and stood directly behind the Sharingan–user, breathing down his neck in admonition.

"During earlier interrogations, it is believed that you were in some way responsible for the murder of–"

"Your mother," Sugiyama whispered quietly, barely moving his lips as he applied blatant prosody to strike a nerve. It didn't _seem_ to work; nevertheless, Sasuke saw Sakura inwardly recoil from his words.

"Yes."

"You hadn't been speaking to your mother for a very long time before this incident," he told her, as if he were the interrogator and she, the prisoner.

Sakura set the clipboard on the table. "This has hardly any releva–"

"You and your relevance," he hissed, casually stretching his legs out underneath the table.

He gently nudged her booted foot with his, his long limbs reaching nearly to her chair.

Her eyes narrowed.

"How many were dispatched to–"

"More than were probably needed," he admitted, the ghost of a sarcastic smile mocking her effectively. "And yes, I was one of them."

The medic was losing her edge as her nostrils flared in anger. "What the _hell_ was your motive?"

"You know, I'm wondering why you even _care_," he retorted airily, as though this conversation was comprised of small–talk, of mundane aspects of life, such as the weather. Sakura's mouth opened and closed furiously as his foot slid across the stone floor and under the bar across the legs of her chair.

"Why wouldn't I_ care_?" she demanded, jade eyes narrowed to defiant slits as she leaned closer to him; Sasuke involuntarily moved forward, but the gaze of the jounin burned on the back of his skull, and he desisted.

"You hadn't been speaking to her for months before her death. You didn't check in. Your arguments had reached the point where you couldn't stand her opinion any longer."

Sakura began to shake in overwhelming fury. Sugiyama placed his foot behind the bar and yanked her chair forward, causing the medic's face to nearly slam into the table as her balance was temporarily stolen. Catching herself with one hand, she rose her eyes to him and blinked back the tears she so wanted to let spill, but she couldn't let him get to her.

_You're stronger than this._

Meanwhile, Sasuke was trying to quell his own shakes as he shoved his hands deep into his pockets, cracking his knuckles in agitation as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. Sakura was slowly breaking and he didn't trust that man's hands near her, or _any _damn part of him, for that matter. Restrictions were such a joke; they didn't deserve any respect, these sorry excuses for human beings. Nevertheless, the law–abiding jounin behind him continued to watch him carefully.

"So you left her alone. You two grew apart. And you _never_ forgave her."

"I didn't...leave her to...I _didn't_ leave her to die," Sakura whispered, sounding as though she were trying to convince herself rather than him.

"And if you'd been there, the night she died," Sugiyama continued in a low voice, a noxious hiss that was almost dizzying when heard. A dangerous growl sounded in Sasuke's throat as the man gently cradled her chin in his powerful fingers, lowering his face to hers. Staring her in the eyes, telling her all of the truths that she did not want to hear. Somewhere in the pit of her stomach and the back of her mind, it began to echo, the horrible, disgusting truth. "You wouldn't have made it out alive."

Jade eyes glazed over as she blinked furiously, quelling the moisture forming on her lids as she asked... "Why did Itachi do it?"

Taken aback momentarily, he raised an eyebrow. "You knew it was Uchiha Itachi?"

"Yes, I did," she retorted, eyes narrowing as the base of his thumb passed lightly over her bottom lip.

"He knows your connection to Sasuke!" Tenshon burst out, immediately covering her mouth with her hand, nails digging into her spotless, flawless skin. Aside from the dried blood, caked on like a layer of foundation that she really didn't need. Her husband's reaction to her words was immediate; Sakura inhaled sharply as his fingers squeezed her jaw roughly and causing quite a bit of pain, and now his eyes were shadowed and familiar as he looked through her, seeing absolutely nothing.

"You have no idea...the horrors...god, what he's been doing to people to perfect his weapon–"

"What sort of weapon?" demanded Sakura, wrapping her fingers around the man's wrist and tugging his hand away from her jaw, but he held tighter. Sasuke twitched.

Tossing her head angrily, struggling against the man's hold, she shrieked, "TELL ME!"

The redhead seemed terrified as her eyes darted around the entire room, as though he were watching, as though he could hear her words echoing in the dungeon of stone. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth–

Sugiyama let go of Sakura and swiftly turned in his seat–

**SLAM.**

His wife had no time to utter even a scream as his fist collided with the side of her skull, knocking her tall frame out of her seat and onto the cold, stone floor. Landing awkwardly on her side, her face contorted in a furious expression, she gritted her teeth and muttered something crude before falling onto her back and letting her jade eyes roll into the back of her head.

Already swelling, the entire side of her face was turning purple in mere seconds, blood rising just beneath the surface and distorting her pretty features.

She remained motionless.

Sakura's hand shot out and lifted Sugiyama off the ground by the collar, over the table; she was standing now, shaking so violently that she looked as though she might collapse. Kakashi firmly grasped Sasuke's shoulder and held him in place and spoke calmly. "Sakura..."

"What gives you the _right_?" she hissed, fingers curling tighter underneath his neck.

"Sakura," Kakashi repeated.

For a tense moment, she continued to hold him, then abruptly threw his body into his chair. The chair broke under her force and his weight, leaving Sugiyama to land ungracefully upon the floor.

Kakashi walked calmly around the table and carefully lifted Tenshon's limp form from the cold floor, cradling her neck as not to let it fall back and cause more damage. Sasuke watched carefully and his stomach twinged again as he stared at the large puddle of crimson that had been forming around the woman's head, soaking her rust-colored locks.

**Plip. Plip.**

Dripping on the floor silently, her blood slowly staining the jounin's gloves and vest.

"Finish up," Kakashi ordered, then disappeared without another word.

Sakura took her seat, seeming oblivious to his departure. She held the clipboard in her shaking hand and glared at him as he straightened, his towering frame not intimidating her in the slightest. Smirking, he dragged his wife's unoccupied seat to him and sat also, leaning uncomfortably close once again as his knees touched hers underneath the table.

"You think you're strong, don't you?" he hissed, tense centimeters the only respite between their angry faces. "You think that just because you made my wife squeal, you can do it to me too."

"I don't think, I kn–"

Sakura's eyes widened and she jerked violently, a vibrant flush erupting in her face, spreading quickly down her neck. Curling her fingers into a fist, she pressed her white knuckles against the table and remained silent against the prisoner's cocky grin, while the color drained from Sasuke's already pale face. He would be in a world of trouble if he attacked the man, but he was sitting here, watching him toy with her...it was killing him. They still needed information and they _had _to pull it out of him.

_But..._

That word changed everything. The obvious doubt.

"Get. Your. Hands–"

"Sasuke, don't," she said in an undertone, not tearing her gaze from Sugiyama's, biting her lip as the unnatural flush continued to throb in every layer of her skin, the discomfort and the crude behavior of the prisoner forcing her anger to rise.

And Sasuke's.

"Put your hands on the table. _Now_," Sakura stated firmly, syllables littered with such clear inflection. Under the table, she snatched his hand, pushing it away from her inner thigh and quickly wrapped her chakra–infused fingers around his and–

**SNAP.**

The sound of his wrist snapping was oddly satisfying in Sasuke's ears.

"Put your fucking hands on the table," she spat, placing her foot upon the seat of his chair, the room between his legs, and shoving it backward; the legs skidded across the cold stone floor and Sugiyama cursed quietly, but obeyed. His hand emerged from under the table, already swollen twice its size, and she added, "Worthless piece of..."

"I'm sick of listening to a bitch like you," the prisoner hissed, painfully trying to bend his fingers that were presumably numb. "You really think I'm going to spill Itachi's plans, like my wife tried to?"

"I'll hit you the same way you hit her. I could charge you for assault, too. I can do damn near anything to someone like you."

"Someone like _me_, huh, Sakura?" An ugly grimace skewed his somewhat handsome face. "What do you think you are? What do you think's going to happen to someone like _you_?"

Imperceptible. A slap in the face. When the tables turn, the insults swing low and he was turning them in his favor, even if it meant paying the ultimate price.

But he could make him snap.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she retorted with a slightly defensive tone, not completely set on hearing what he had to say.

"You're the one who's worthless. I know how much you loathe Itachi. I know how much you want him dead, for all he's done to Sasuke, and for all he's done to you."

"Shut up," Sasuke muttered, fingers clenched into fists, eyes nothing more than narrowed onyx slits of fury.

Pressing the advantage. "He had your mother's blood on his hands."

Sakura stiffened.

"Can you live with that?"

"Stop it," Sasuke hissed. Sakura's expression remained stony.

"Because in the end...no matter _what you do_," Sugiyama hissed, every consonant low and staccato so she would remember every word.

When she tried to sleep at night.

When she looked at her reflection.

When she was so sick of hearing her faults.

She would remember.

"–No matter what you keep telling yourself," he continued, leaning closer to her; her eyes shut as if she could pretend he wasn't there, nose scrunched and mouth in a thin line.

"You let her die."

"No," she whispered, hands shaking as they rose, fingers laced across the back of her neck and pulling it down until her elbows hit the wood, the sound ballooning the silence. "I didn't."

"And Itachi will get you too, _Sakura–kun,_" he hissed gleefully, accenting her name purposely to watch Sasuke begin to shake as badly as her.

Provoke.

And.

Snap.

"No one escapes that man alive. You know that."

"That's a lie. Sasuke did."

"Because he didn't _want_ him dead, Sakura. When he decides to deal with you..." Sugiyama leaned closer, supporting his weight upon his uninjured arm as he put his lips to her ear. Breathing heavily against it, he whispered every syllable against her flesh, grasping her chin with those bloody fingers and holding her vibrating head close. Heartbeat thumping wildly out of control as she shrugged her shoulders against her neck, slowly recoiling from physical contact.

Away from the words.

The prisoner smirked one last time at the blazing, insanely contorted expression of the Uchiha, then caressed her ear with his lips as he told her:

"...You'll have no chance."

So instantaneous.

He snapped.

When it all happens so quickly, seconds seem to sprint by in fleeting moments that occur and reoccur in quick succession, _this_ action after _those _words before_ that_ punch and _these _angry screams that echo.

Sakura felt how fast he had swept by her, the anger soaking her as if thrown into a river of it, as if it were so tangible that she could feel it all. Smothering. The table was suddenly in splinters, haphazardly scattered across the stone floor with no clear pattern; the prisoner was just a bloody mess as the crimson flecked everywhere, his head lolling side to side as the hand attached pulled him up by the collar...

Red. The red glint. The almost insane fire burning in his eyes as he watched, with almost a sick satisfaction, the man suffer.

Sluggishly, like a drug finally wearing off, she realized it was Sasuke. Sasuke, slamming the man's face into the stone floor as if he were a rag doll, listening to the bones in his nose and face snap without even reacting to the disgusting cracks and snaps. Teeth gritted as he brought him up again and Sugiyama's head lolled back, he was spitting bodily fluids from his mouth, sputtering, choking on his own saliva and whatever else was in his throat–

Sakura watched the man's face hit the stone, she watched it bleed and break.

"Don't _speak_ to her!"

**SLAM.**

There was no putting that face back together. It wasn't a puzzle.

It was a person.

"Don't _look _at her!"

**SLAM.**

"SASUKE, STOP!" Sakura shrieked, her voice sounding shrill and from so very far away and she felt unreal, as if it were a dream and this just couldn't be happening, the prisoner wasn't supposed to die, and her rational side was telling her so. But she couldn't stop him, not the insane look in his eyes or the uncontrollable anger that had burst through the dams.

He couldn't watch her go through with that.

He couldn't let people treat her that way.

Boundaries were beyond him, as they always had been.

"Stop! Stop! _Stop!_" Not affecting him at all, her panicked screams.

Muttering in the prisoner's ear, Sasuke hissed, "_And don't you–"_

Sakura jumped to her feet, adrenaline coursing through every fiber of her body–

"–_ever_–"

She could not get herself to move fast enough, because despite the urgency she was faltering in resolve, hesitating to stop him–

"_**Touch**_ _her_!"

**SLAM.**

Insanity.

The purest vindictive fury he possessed was all displayed like an exhibit of paintings on his pale yet shadowed countenance, loyalty and insanity and a frightening lack of control. Sakura had made it a few a seconds too late, the body had already hit the floor for the final time; she had seen that look of slight fear, of the reality of his actions hitting him somewhere in the numbness. Nevertheless, she continued her punch and apologized silently as her knuckles, coursing with perfectly manipulated chakra, broke his ribs and sent his body flying up from his kneeling position on the floor. Colliding with the wall, Sasuke struggled to catch his breath as he slid down the stone structure, back scraping painfully against the uneven wall comprised of ancient ashlars. She left him stunned.

The medic couldn't speak. Against her chest beat a heart too out of control to function properly, and she fell to her hands and knees, clutching her shirt and tugging, as though suffocating. The air was rich with the pungent scent of fresh blood, and it literally felt as though a stitch was lodged in her side. It was everywhere.

Still, she tried not to let her tears fall.

Sasuke was heaving, clutching his torso and rocking back and forth in an attempt to ease the pain, but it was nothing in comparison to what he saw in her eyes.

"What are we going to do?" she whimpered, biting her lip.

"..."

"He's dead."

"No."

"YOU SMASHED HIS _SKULL,_ SASUKE!

And then came the footsteps.

Tapping down the corridor, attracted, no doubt, from the screaming and noise.

Like cornered children, they waited until the heavy door had been swung open and thankfully, or maybe not, it was Kakashi.

There were occasions on which they had seen their sensei surprised, but this one was now the most recent and at the top of the mentally tallied list. Sakura pulled herself to her feet and swayed slightly, soaked to the skin in blood, most of which did not belong to her.

Dead silence.

* * *

And why, again, was it raining upon their return? 

Leaving the house in darkness that was slowly becoming so customary. Hidden in a blanket that was the most accomplished prevaricator of all. For some obscure reason that no one would remember and would not matter later, a single candle was lit, the only provider of light, even if it was quite dim. The dangerous sounds of nature sounded muffled in the confines of the nearly silent house, creating the enclosed atmosphere that forced objects into that of a backdrop. As if unused, furniture and tables, the desk in the den, the dishes in the sink were coated with darkness. Those things did not exist.

They were otiose, props in a play that was reaching a dramatic climax.

When her presence graced the stage it was anything but elegant; she held her arms out to steady a desperate struggle for balance. Trying to quell the disorientation the fleeting method of transportation had bestowed upon her. One wavering flame of luminescence provided the familiar path through the den and she gratefully followed it, disregarding her bloody footprints on the neutral colored carpet.

_She _was the one who would have to clean it, anyway.

As she swept through the doorway, the candle flame, sitting so lonely, flickered and danced.

The medic's foot hit the bottom stair, and he appeared in the den too, standing with less–than–perfect equilibrium in the crimson tracks left behind. He could hear her and knew where she would go, recalling the information as effortlessly as an involuntary function of the body. Like breathing. Glittering, onyx eyes reflected in the dancing flame, he swept past it as well.

So overbearingly, though, that it flickered and died.

And her feet had carried her almost to the top of the stairs. He knew the sound they made. The rhythm they played.

_**Thump**_**, thump, thump.**

_**Thump**_**, thump, thump.**

Not loud enough to wake them up when she had finally cleared the dinner dishes, but obvious to remind someone with the finest qualities of an Uchiha, to know she was indeed coming to bed.

Halfway up the stairs he heard her door open, creak, and shut.

The disconcerting aspect: His foot hit the stair. Her lock clicked.

She was never one to lock her door.

Down the desolate hallway, lacking windows and warmth that he did not deserve anyway, and at this point he was beyond boundaries. No knocks. No word of warning. His blood–stained fingers wrapped around the door handle and turned it roughly. While he was nearing exhaustion, he pushed until he shook, clutching it for support as the lock broke.

"Don't open that door," she hissed, and he heard her weight fall against it. She barely needed to raise her beautiful voice to get her point across, and he effectively ignored her. With one powerful shove, he slammed his shoulder against it and forced her to relent; the door flew open and he earned a sharp pain in his ribs for all of his efforts. He had only let himself be healed a bit before subduing the nurse and escaping long enough to transport himself home.

She stood there, framed in such gorgeous moonlight that had succeeded breaking through the storm. Half–dressed. A loose nightshirt hung tentatively on her shoulders, arms through the sleeves. Quite open down the front and exposing faint patches of crimson, soaked through from her earlier attire, black brassiere nudging it open just a little. Hair still pulled back, revealing her pale visage, seeming all the more ashen in the light that seemed to drown her little body. She looked fragile.

She_ felt _angry.

The dark–haired shinobi kept his eyes on her, reaching behind him to slam the door shut.

"Get out."

He did not say a word to her but continued to watch her, advancing slowly and dangerously, the predator until the end.

"Get. Out."

Footsteps echoed across her wooden floor, heavy and littered with frightening pretense. She felt, out of her control, her body recoil. Maybe it had been just one step. Maybe not.

It didn't matter.

He was directly in front of her, staring down at her shrinking form that was now forced against the cold, perspiring window.

Did she ever realize how badly someone could get lost in eyes like hers? When they were filling with tears? How could _anyone _stand to watch her cry?

He knew he couldn't.

"You wanted to talk?" he murmured in a low voice, pressing his body against hers and trapping her to the freezing window. Tense was an understatement: Her small frame fit perfectly with his, so muscular, every curve molding to him easily as if it was meant to exist in only that way. Lips brushing hers teasingly with the heavy taste of copper upon them, morbid and intoxicating, and his hand roughly yanked her hair from its confining style and it rained upon her shoulders, pink locks spread across her collarbone, so endless. Weaving his hand through them, he held her head tightly and spoke slowly against her lips. Despite her anger, she found herself tasting every heavily accented syllable that tumbled out of his mouth, displaying so much from so very little.

"Sa...ku...ra..."

She let him hold her against that freezing window...as she crushed her lips against his.

Responding immediately, not willing to be outdone in any way, he shoved her roughly against the window, crushing his knuckles between her skull and the slippery glass. Letting her suck tenderly on his bottom lip, but only for seconds until he coaxed her mouth open further with an eager, burning tongue that was dominating her effectively. Reacting fiercely, perhaps annoyed that he was willing and trying to keep her passive, attacking his tongue with hers so roughly that he shoved her again, barely feeling his knuckles against the cold window, but things like that...didn't matter.

He let his hand slide from the back of her head, trailing calloused fingers down the bruised nape of her pale neck, and she shuddered in response. Tugging on the high collar of yet another one of his stolen nightshirts, he dragged his fingernails lightly over her skin as he pushed it over her shoulders gently; she let her arms fall to her sides and it slid off with a quiet sound, a heap on the floor.

He pulled away.

Her back, skin dotted with goose bumps from the slippery, cold glass, was pulled from the window as he held her body against his. One arm around her upper back and the other around her waist, latched tightly to his muscular chest, and it took Sakura a moment to realize he was shaking. And while it felt as though he were embracing her protectively, she knew the difference. By the way he clung, holding on to the skin of her back tightly as though it were material he could wrap between his fingers; despite her height, his chin rested on her bruised shoulder, free fingers toying in agitation with her long hair. Shuddering against her so badly it affected her body as well, slowly penetrating her own body with violent shakes.

When his chin slid off her shoulder and he let his face rest against her collarbone, barely managing to keep his expression impassive. She knew how upset he was.

He didn't know what to do.

"Sasuke..."

"..."

She should have known he would be silent. He wanted to accuse himself of the wrongs, but he could not bring himself to.

"Look at this..."

Sakura stroked his neck gently, remaining quiet as he whispered against her.

"How many years later...and he's still not gone."

The medic stiffened in his embrace. Why did he have to do this? Berate himself for all these things that were just unavoidable.

"This wasn't unavoidable," he muttered, as if he had read her mind.

A relenting grip. With impassive face and stabled resolve, he pulled away and stared at her stonily, hands relinquishing their clinging impulses to trail lightly up her neck. Fingers holding her head steady, splayed across each side, her cheekbones. The base of each thumb pressing against her face gently. His intense stare.

She inhaled sharply as he pulled her closer, touching his forehead with hers and ordering her firmly, with no room for argument:

"Promise me. That you won't do anything about Itachi. No looking for him. Don't _think _about it."

Holding her breath, she wondered why she felt the need to retort, "She...was my _mother_, Sasuke."

"If you haven't forgotten, he killed mine too. Promise me."

"Sasuke, I–"

"_Promise me_," he repeated fiercely, his grip becoming painfully tight as he continued to grip her head.

"I...can't..."

"Sakura!" he snapped.

"How in the world can I promise something like that?" she asked in a frantic voice, barely above a whisper. "You know how revenge feels, Sasuke. To hate someone so much that it hurts. You've spent," she spat, pulling his hands from her face, "most of your life," she continued, shoving him away from her. "Doing anything to get that satisfaction. To get that revenge. You sound pretty hypocritical telling me to sit back and do nothing."

"You will _not_ do anything."

"Why not?" she demanded. "Because I'm weak? Because I'm the medic and it's not my job to put myself on the front lines? Because I'm a girl? _Why_?" A vibrant flush sat high in her cheeks as her anger rose, worsening by the second as he glared at her, wanting her to understand the reason without him having to speak.

"Hn."

"Don't do that to me, Sasuke! I'm not going to read your mind. Tell me why–"

"Because." A short and clipped answer that only provoked the medic's temper.

"Because _why_?"

Growling in frustration he put his arms behind his head and heaved an insufferable huff, turning and facing the door, footsteps loud and dramatic like a child's.

Sakura wasn't perturbed by his actions; on the contrary, she demanded to know why yet again, and after cursing at him, he brought back his fist and slammed it into the wall next to the door. It shut her up.

"I don't want you hurt."

Sakura opened her mouth, then hesitated, and closed it.

"I don't...I can't...handle that. My father. My mother. Naruto. You. My whole life," he continued, removing his fist from the dent in the pink–painted wall, "People insist on forcing themselves into my life."

"What you did today...you almost killed that guy, Sasuke," Sakura muttered, taking a step forward and extending a placating hand towards him. "Why did you do that?"

Growling again, he grabbed her by the wrist and held her against the door and yet unable to look her in the eye; hands wrapped around her upper arms, he squeezed her so tightly she considered snapping at him to stop, until he hung his head, shaking it slowly. Murmuring indistinct words that sounded accusatory.

"_Please _talk to me, Sasuke," she whispered, placing her light fingers upon his collarbone.

It was so obvious now as he embraced her for the second time, so roughly, so heartfelt. It was clear now as the words that he mumbled, ashamed to say, reached her ears.

"I let him_ touch_ you..."

Against the door, cradling her body in his own meaningful way, saying just how much he cared.

"Sasuke–kun," she breathed, letting him nudge her neck gently. "I'm okay now, though."

His demeanor changed considerably as he pulled away, looking at her in that annoyed, superior way that she had not endured for quite a while. It always hurt, it made her feel a few inches tall. It made her feel so weak. An angry comment popped into her mind and she spoke before even thinking–

"You know, you can't act as though you can prevent anything from hurting me. It's _inevitable_, all right?" she snapped, pushing him away, wanting the degrading expression off his face so badly she was willing to punch and distort his face to do it.

"And _you_ know," he retorted angrily, putting his hand on the doorknob and forcing her out of his way, "How much I'm wishing I'd never been put on your team? Never told you a damn thing about my life? How much I wish I'd NEVER MET YOU?"

Oh.

That stung.

Without waiting to see the expression on her pretty face, he wrenched the door open and slammed it shut behind him.

_She's let her feelings grow_

_To tears she'll __**never**__ show..._

She stared at the dark wall: Moonlight cast a twisting, nightmare invoking shadow, cruelly toying with her own fragile imagination as the fist-sized dent seemed to widen. No. The world was trying to fool her, blind her innocence as it had so many times before for no reason other than to be just that.

"_I wish I'd never met you."_

A weapon of syllables that pierced her heart and head in quick succession, such fatal blows they were and they hurt; badly.

Torturous reiteration, create lies and reduce her to the weakness she was meant to wallow in, just as he said. Just as they all said.

The person that had created facetious little rhyme...'and words will never hurt me'...

They were so obviously insane.

And with her back to the door, she wailed in her own self–pity, and she did not care who listened, who heard, who cared.

But she made sure to keep every tear on her own side of the door.

And with his back against the door he stared at the floor with his always present facade, his mask. His lies.

But he wished he knew how to say sorry.

* * *


	30. Epilogue: The Bloodstained Horizon

**ATTENTION: THE SEQUEL TO THIS STORY IS UP, TITLED _'OF BLOOD AND WILTED BLOSSOMS_'.**

So go read and review it, bitches. 8D

---

_((make way for the nostalgia and heartfelt babbling))._

Firstly, I'd like to thank every person that reviewed this because, wow, it just means so much to me and I'm grateful to each and every one of you and if I ever met you I'd probably give you a hug and snap your spine in half. You'd totally deserve it. Mel, I love you so much, and thank you a million times over for dealing with me and my spoilers and reviewing. Nazaliasan, I have to say, that's probably the longest review I've ever received and I appreciate every single word. Again, everyone else, thank you so so so much. I hope the sequel is just as great, but I'm taking a break. I do not know when it will be up, and I really think_ (speaking to a lot of people, my friends, AIM and such)_ are still catching up and I understand completely. _(dodges glass bottles thrown at my skull)._ I know, it's long!

I seriously never thought I'd get this far. I mean, I put up the first chapter on a whim, a pure and utter whim because I wanted them drunk. I never thought I'd make it chapter five, and now I'm on 30. After 378 pages of Verdana size nine font, I had a story that I'm so wrapped up in I had to keep it going. Hell, this is going to be my career, might as well get used to it. Funny, how I don't have drive to do homework or laundry but I'll stay up to do this. _Who am I kidding; I don't like sleep._ I don't know what this fic has got, quality-wise, that makes you all like it; I mean, I like it 'cause it's MINE, I don't need a reason. With the big words that I use just because I can and the angst and the humor and the crying and the constant mood swing quality, brought on by characters and not just because the author is (somewhat) crazy...lol, fuck it. "We writers are suffocated by insanity", says me, says my profile, therefore I can say it is. I swear I could make someone love this couple if they read it. But in case I can't, I can just debate people in circles out of some pathetic pride.

The plot for the sequel is basically that Sasuke, Sakura and the others are going undercover as the group that was enlisted by Itachi, taking their place. (Sugiyama, Tenshon, Hanabi and others). INFILTRATION. But with all that's been going on, you think they can live through it? _((I doubt it.))._

If you want to read the sequel, I guess you should put me on your favorite authors list or something, because I'm still 'eeh' ing about the title for it. My profile is always up to date, and it'll say what I'm working on, what I've put on hold, and I always put up previews for new chapters and stories, so check it.

Lyrics are "Sorry" by Chris Daughtry, and not the band Daughtry, this is something he sang on American Idol. And I really thought it fit...only the bold though, (aside from sound effects).

_((I was seriously tempted to have someone get hurt in the epilogue, like it's all happy and WHAM, someone gets impaled by a dozen kunai.))_

This is the closest to 'happy' and a 'wrap-up' I'll get. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning, so I won't have access to internet. (twitch). Reading this, I was sort of crying and laughing, that strange thing that doesn't occur too often, with that moodswing quality that'll throw you off emotionally. I'm just so happy there's more. This is how I wanted to end from the very beginning aside from a few minor technicalities, and, truthfully, I'm not completely happy with it.

If you've read the whole thing and never left a review before, I'd make me **really** happy if you would, because, well, I want to know what you liked about it.

But you know, you're never _completely_ happy, because if you sit there and edit it over and over you just start rewriting it and nothing, nothing is _ever _perfection. And I'm _SO_ not.

* * *

**Epilogue: The Bloodstained Horizon**

_--_

"_If I told you, I've been cleanin' my soul..._

_And if I promised you, I'd regain control..._

_Will you open your door, and let me in?_

_Take me for who I am, and not for who I've been?"_

_--_

Universal, and yet oh–so–familiar words that made something in the aging jounin halt.

"I'm sick of crying."

He'd heard the words many a time from his students and they had always held that same intangible determination. This time was no exception; now, he could appreciate her fully as he rose his eye to hers, watching her blink once. Red irises disappearing for half a second behind curled, ebony eyelashes and slightly tumescent lids, only to resurface with a little more summoned resolve.

"I know I can't go. But I _know_ what I want."

Often this did not occur, a woman staring him down in fierceness and defiance in a manner reminiscent of a headstrong pupil, not an intelligent jounin who had experienced and seen death, just like him. A world of heartbreak that people like them were meant to endure. He didn't expect that fire in her eyes, a glower more than anything, surveying him with an expression so crystal clear. And different from most times, he was ready to comply to her wishes.

He appreciated her strength, much more than he had in anyone else. Sexism? Not at all, but certainly no other woman would have done it. Not to him.

"I want you to find him. Him, _and_ whomever was responsible." She broke off, both eyes fixed upon his one.

A long pause. He couldn't find the heart or temperament to look her directly in the eyes for more than one reason, instead gazing past, over her shoulder at the ripple in the sky. Breaking dawn.

"Please," she whispered, fingers vibrating slightly as she took his hand from his side and wrapped her long fingers around his gloved palm. Out of habit, smoothing the imperfect folds.

"I will do...everything I can," he muttered quietly. A voice as flat as the horizon reached her ears; though it was saddening, being her only respite, it had to remain this. Static. Unable to blossom.

With her other hand, she slipped it beneath her bandages to reveal her fist clenched around an obviously small object. Pulling her fingers apart...

Slivers of light, effectively slitting the inky blanket that was a sky free of sunlight, chose that moment to shine and glint upon the ring, lighting up beautifully in her ivory palm.

"Kakashi...what should I _do_ with this?"

Seeming slightly annoyed, he watched her impassively with his dark eye and used his strong, dexterous fingers to close hers around the band. "What sort of question is that? Keep it."

She had a retort ready, but thought better of it and closed her mouth tightly, silently sliding the ring into her pocket underneath her red robe. The man knew there was more she had to say and if he didn't know better, he'd say she was unsure of her feelings at this point. He was not prudent; there was no guilty conscience weighing him if he had brought it up, but of course that may have revealed, to her and to him, the nature of his own feelings. He wasn't sure of his own, but of course he would ignore them at every point.

Suddenly conscious, he let go of her hand, still staring intensely out at the streaks of swift–moving colors, staining the blackness with a bit of reassurance. A reminder of the new, of the hopeful and the uplifting. Stinging winds swept leaves across the roof, catching in her dark locks and sending noticeable chills through her bare arm, uncovered by the crimson robe. She folded them over her chest.

He stepped past her, sandaled footsteps unheard against the shingles as he stood unusually close to the edge and leaned, peering down. Kurenai watched his behavior curiously and considered asking him what he was looking at, but then she heard what he must have been listening to all along.

Turning, she walked up behind him and leaned around his broad shoulder. A fleeting glance; she saw his expression change behind the mask as he listened to the snuffles. As he watched the girl, practically a daughter, suffer.

A floor down, sitting in the wide, ivory windowsill with her pale face buried in the silky folds of a long black shirt. Lank pink locks unable to obscure the red and white, sewn emblem that stood out clearly against the dark material. Knees drawn to her chest, fingernails digging into the shirt as if she was holding on like her last resort, the only lifeline. Pathetic little snuffles that she hated letting people hear.

Sakura whimpered and muttered something Kurenai could not decipher, but from the look on the gray–haired jounin's face, he could. He sighed.

The medic rocked a bit, keeping her face covered as she soaked the shirt that did not belong to her with endless tears. Still muttering, she clenched her fingers into a shaking fist and slammed it, almost absentmindedly, against the top of the sill. Kakashi's lips twitched through his sad, impassive facade as though he might have smiled; the jagged split that broke through the wood made Kurenai want to grin too.

**THUMP.**

The dull sound jerked them from their quiet muse that had occurred under the pretense of this less–than–cheerful scene; both jounin rose an eyebrow to each other curiously, and when it was clear that neither had an answer, they turned on their heels in unison. Kakashi hurried to the edge of the roof, overlooking the backyard and the small garden of thriving tomato vines, and listened. Kurenai's eyes narrowed as she struggled to place the source of the sound and the gray–haired jounin deftly lowered himself, swinging his legs into an open window on the second floor.

"Hey–!" Kurenai quickly followed in similar fashion; the muted thumps continued and she was greeted with a strange sight. Now she realized the sound was more of a fierce slam and it took her a few moments to understand what was going on as the scene unfolded.

Sasuke didn't flinch as Naruto's sandaled foot slammed into the drywall, mere inches from his head. His back against it, just on the other side of the door frame as if waiting for the girl to emerge and scare her as a joke.

This was no joke.

Hinata remained silent and fidgety behind the blonde, twisting nervous fingers around each other so roughly they seemed to be losing blood within them. They were white. A couple of times she opened her mouth, so determined to speak, but every time lost the courage and instead flinched violently, accompanied by a squeak. Naruto brought his foot back and kicked the wall dangerously close to the bowed head of ebony locks, though he didn't seem to care in the slightest. Face contorted in anger and flushed red, his cerulean eyes flashed as he crushed his toes against the surface, ignoring the pain, watching him. Waiting.

Waiting for him to look up and answer.

"I just can't! _Fucking! _Believe you!" He managed to say, breathing hitching out of palpable rage. Sasuke did not react. Loose, limp arms rested at his sides, palms turned up, fingers resting where tendons held them.

"You couldn't even–you couldn't even _apologize!_" Naruto burst out, barely suppressing angry tears.

"Naruto–" Kakashi's interjection echoed in the hallway, resounding off the wood floors.

**SLAM.**

Kurenai stared at Sasuke. He was more prone to react violently, but he didn't look up.

"You come home and you _yell _at her? You act like an ungrateful bastard and say _that_?"

**SLAM.**

Unresponsive, despite the crumbling drywall pelting his pale face.

"And when she's upset enough you just...you...Sasuke, that guy is _DEAD_!"

**SLAM.**

Kurenai and Hinata gasped in startling unison as Sasuke's fist now rested in the decent–sized dent that Naruto had created; the blonde stopped in mid–kick and stomped on the floor, fists clenched at his sides.

"I'm sick of–"

"NARUTO!"

Every head whirled in Hinata's direction, expressions indicating they were clearly taken aback by her sudden outburst, but she didn't stop there. Clearly distraught, red flooded her cheeks as she stammered out the words that even made Sasuke look up.

"Stop. Y-you don't know, you didn't h-hear–"

Her voice broke and she closed her eyes, struggling not to stammer as she compiled the shortest version, Sasuke's defense. "Something bad...h-happened and...it wasn't his f-fault," she whispered, eyes brimming with tears. "The prisoner, th-the man that k-k-k–"

"Hinata, how did you find out?" Kurenai asked quietly.

"I overheard–Hanabi– who heard from," She swallowed, lip trembling; "She heard from one of the ANBU. He–"

A strange noise sounded from Sasuke's throat: A growl of frustration, helpless and yet guttural in quality, so every eye was on him as he rose his head, looking at Naruto with such passionate hatred. At first Naruto stepped back, apparently wary of the Sharingan, but it became clear–

The whites surrounding his onyx irises were bloodshot.

Raising a hand, Sasuke observed it with unnaturally intense interest, watching it vibrate, every little exhausted tendon struggling to hold it up.

"Your eyes..." Naruto began, suppressing a violent flinch as the frighteningly inflamed eyes fixed on him. "Were you outside her door all night? Didn't you sleep?"

Breathless, croaking laughter erupted in the silence, suffocating all present with the sound; it scraped down to the bone like the sharp blade of a knife; Sasuke rose his head. Hinata squeaked again and grabbed a fistful of the blonde's nightshirt, tugging softly.

"Sleep...hn..." The avenger's voice trailed off, the hint of a facetious laugh still decorating the few words uttered. Violently shaking his head, although it seemed more of a jerk, a tic of some sort.In an undertone, with halting breaths and a few pauses allowing for Naruto's angry snarls, Hinata relayed the incident to him as gently as she could. In the end she broke, letting her hand fall away from him and cover her face to hide the tears spilling from her celestial, white eyes.

"WHAT?" Naruto demanded, and Hinata shrunk back against the wall, unable to look the blonde in the eye. Watching his friend continue to wrack with those strange, strangled laughs, unable to keep any part of him still, he stared at the floor, reliving in only a fleeting moment that time not too long ago when he had believed Hinata to be dead. Short–lived, perhaps, but that same painful, burning feeling of failure, that was there. As if unworthy to walk the earth, because you had let someone down in the worst possible way.

"That...that bastard!" Naruto burst out, eyes now holding pity for the dark–haired shinobi, still against the door, still shaking.

And it just _had _to happen to Sakura. It had to be _her_. It had to be _him_.

It always had to be _them_.

A relationship held together by the most fragile strings was still forced to snap. But shouldn't things only have _one_ breaking point?

The door they had been conversing and screaming outside of opened. A bloodshot jade eye appeared in the thin space, surveying the gathering in the hallway with a slightly furrowed brow. Thin strands of pink, lank and bloody, fell over her pale face as she slid her fingers into the space and pushed the door open, not meeting anyone's eye. She seemed to find the floor a fascinating thing to observe and she stepped silently over the threshold with something bunched in her arms. Casting a wary glance at all present, she picked absentmindedly at the dried, caked liquid on her chin and then her gaze found the man sitting against the wall, also staring into nothing. Shakes subsiding. He rose his head to look at her with ruddy eyes, and she was the only one who could find the emotion, toiling behind a curtain of ebony locks. Behind eyes that would forever remain sheltered against the world, for fear of vulnerability.

Behind lips that would never speak a weakness.

And a breath was held in every throat, lying in wait like the audience of a play. It was no entertainment, yet it felt that way, the certainty too palpable to be false.

The medic turned on her heel slowly, inclining her head out of nothing but the absolutely necessity it called for. To say it may have been respect would be laughable. Standing over him, holding his shirt stained with blood, sweat and so many bittersweet tears, her eyes narrowed even as his gaze held no threat to her. Contrary to the belief of those watching, he was struggling to apologize without making it quite so perceptible.

"_Don't try to do so much."_

"_I can't let you suffer like this!"_

"_Well, is it any wonder we failed?"_

"_Sasuke–kun..."_

"_It's none of your business."_

"_You're just like him...just like him..."_

"_Promise me."_

"_I can't."_

"_I wish I'd never met you!"_

The sound of broken bones broke the awkward silence, along with a distinct crumbling; Sasuke seethed as his body was forced into the drywall, letting his head and shoulders curl closer to his body in response to Sakura's kick. The sounds: Hinata's high–pitched screech, Kurenai's gasp of surprise that she managed to catch in her throat. Naruto reached for Sakura's arm, perhaps to pull her back, but Kakashi shook his head.

Broken.

_Bro_ken.

Broken.

Even in bare feet, the pink–haired kunoichi had succeeded in shattering a few more ribs in addition to the ones already bruised from her punch the day before. Pressing harder, grinding her heel into just the right spot until he rose a shaking hand and wrapped his fingers around her tensed calf, tugging in vain.

After a moment of glaring down at him, she brought her foot back.

"Same to you," she spat. No one had a clue what she was talking about except for Sasuke, and the words hit him as painfully as her abrupt kick to the chest. Shaking body now partly embedded in the drywall, crumbling, white pieces falling away to rest upon the floor and his lap.

Raising her arm, she pointed with a dangerous, threatening finger to the bathroom at the end of the hall. "Fifteen minutes."

As if he dared disobey. No choice in the matter. Besides, who else was going to stitch every sorry piece of him back together?

If his chest had not been completely numb, he might have found the courage, no, the _gall_ to open his mouth and retort sarcastically. Though he knew very well he was in no position to say anything.

Letting her arms relax, she relinquished her grip on the shirt she had slept with and let it unfold, touching the floor. Taking another end, she snapped it once to unwrinkle it and draped it over him with no remorse in her eyes. Ignoring his grimace of pain, the girl turned on her heel and stomped down the hallway to the bathroom, footsteps echoing ominously in the unnatural stillness.

**SLAM.**

"Um...we'll b-be downstairs," Hinata stammered, taking Naruto by the sleeve before he could protest; a nod from Kurenai sent the white–eyed girl hurriedly tugging him to the stairs. Kurenai turned to Kakashi.

"Shall we take him–?"

The stoic jounin shook his head again, sighing as he looked at the Uchiha, body still pressed into the wall. His forehead was on his raised knee, struggling not to make a sound in spite of his injuries.

_Fucking. Pride._

Sobs could be heard from behind the door that had just endured a dangerously violent slam.

The woman stared at Kakashi with piercing eyes, clear puzzlement etched on her face, and he could only stare stonily back until she realized that he knew better than she.

After watching his students grow, he must have realized how useless it was to try.

* * *

"Naomi!" 

Dead silence.

Marlena slammed her hand upon the spotless, disinfected counter and muttered, "That girl, I swear..."

Dramatically shoving her chair back, she stood and walked around the counter, heels clicking in a loud rhythm on the tile to let everyone know that she was up and on the prowl. Therefore, there would be no signs of any of the experienced nurses that knew their way around. For poor Naomi, the newest addition to the staff, she would be in trouble when Marlena found her.

The assistant's eyes were narrowed and sharp and looking for the mousey–haired little girl that had started only two days ago and at the moment was supposed to report to her mentor as was required for new inductees. She had not seen her all morning, reason to believe the girl wasn't doing her job.

Rounding a corner, Marlena stopped in her tracks.

A bloodied kunai rested on the sea green tile outside the door where Kami and Hikari were held, and the strangely symmetrical spatters of crimson radiated not only from the weapon (it seemed as though it had been dropped), but seeped from under the closed, heavy door. Rushing forward, she kicked the kunai away and lunged for the handle, not bothering to look before she stepped–

**SQUELCH.**

Breath caught in her throat, it was a long moment before she willed herself to look down at whatever was soaked her ivory high heel.

Brunette locks soaked in blood, attached to a skull that had been clearly crushed to pieces, perhaps underneath the heavy boot of the man that Marlena knew had been responsible. Still, no one was supposed to know she had connections. The two young girls that had been occupying the beds just last night, begging Naomi to stay up just a few more minutes. Looking out the window at the fireflies and those stars, telling them all the horrible truths and foreshadowing their untimely incident. Hoping against hope it wouldn't come to pass, the day when the man with the bloody eyes came back for them.

No one could escape him.

Marlena dropped to her knees, ignoring the dead woman's hair she was kneeling on, and clutched at her throat, retching–

Dark, murky coffee, the only thing in her stomach as of that morning, expelled from her mouth as she vomited all over the tile.

* * *

He nearly slipped on the moist tile, dampened from the suffocating steam of the shower. Catching himself by wrapping his fingers around the edge of the counter, he straightened as regally as he could despite the unbearable pain his fractured ribs caused. Shutting the door behind him, he lingered obstinately to display his resistance to his injuries. Willing his narrowed, still bloodshot eyes to not wander to the glass sliding door of the shower that thankfully was so foggy it was impossible to see through. Nevertheless, it was all bothering him. Through his daze of pain he could still hear the water draining. Imagine her lathering that stupid soap all over her skin. And that damn, lingering scent of cherries from her shampoo. 

Whatever had possessed him to buy that for her so long ago was the same something that was forcing him to remember just how soft her skin was. He'd touched it. He knew.

He heard her shut the water off abruptly and the glass door slid open; her arm appeared, pulling the towel from the metal bar and into the shower. A wave of pain swept through Sasuke and forced him to grasp the edge of the counter for the second time, and he sat himself on it as Sakura stepped out.

He kept his eyes fixedly on the tile as she shut the door behind her. Towel wrapped tightly around her body, effectively covering all of the bare, luscious skin from beneath her bruised collarbone to above mid–thigh. Jade eyes surveyed him, eyes that he dared not meet, and she gasped quietly. It stuck in her throat.

"I need to heal those _now_," she muttered, dropping to her knees and grabbing something from the cupboard under the sink. She straightened. Without asking for his assistance, she swiftly began to remove his shirt, the panic obvious in her eyes. He let her move his limbs in whatever direction and let his head fall back against the mirror, breathing shallowly, weakly. As her fingertips trailed swiftly, applying pressure in certain troublesome gashes, his vision swam as the stinging, numbing sensation hit him in waves. Spasms, ruthless muscle jerks forced his breaths to hitch abruptly as she finished with his wounds.

"Get on the floor," she ordered snappishly.

_With you, gladly. _It took him a moment to find the strength to lean forward and look her in the eye. "What?"

Squeezing her eyelids shut, the medic prayed for patience. "Please, do as I ask."

She supported his weight as he slid from the counter, landing gingerly upon the tile. Lowering him to sit on the floor, she kept her hand underneath his shoulder as he laid flat on the cool tile, sending chills up his burning back. Kneeling beside him, she rubbed her hands together; something clear and glutinous was on them.

"This is really going to hurt."

No answer.

Biting her lip, whether in concentration or regret, it was not certain; placing her light, experienced hands upon his chest, she pressed gently. The muscles beneath the skin convulsed accordingly but Sasuke willed himself not to make a sound. So she continued. Feeling for the misplaced bones and nudging them back to where they belonged, though as tender as she tried to be, no amount of care could keep the pain away. His head hit the tile loudly, masking his groan. His eyes closed as he forced himself to breathe normally, ignoring the spreading numbing sensation throughout his torso.

"I'm really sor–"

"Shut _up_," he moaned. _I know that I deserved this._

The medic fell silent, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip as she kneaded a spot carefully with a bit of chakra, intent on prodding the bone to it's original spot; he tried to sit up, body curling in response.

"You can't do that," she whispered in a hushed voice, still talking to him as patient as she knew how. "You need to lie still. Injuries to the ribs are the worst and take the longest to heal."

_Which means it'll take the most energy for you to heal, since we don't have the time,_ Sasuke thought savagely, irritated, as always, at her lack of concern for her own body. Always for him. Always her patience, her kindness, her tender care that he never deserved.

He convulsed again, face contorted in extreme pain as he struggled to sit up once more.

"Stop it!" she cried shrilly, holding him down firmly, fingers splayed across his pulsing chest. Carefully, she raised herself on hands and knees and slid a leg over him, lowering her hips comfortably on top of his, straddling him. "_You_ _can't move around_!"

Cursing fluently, he threw his head back, seething as she continued to heal him. Soft, shushing sounds tumbled off her lips as if speaking with a child.

Or maybe just a man, his pride at it's lowest. Everything...at it's lowest.

"I–didn't...mean it," he managed to say, swallowing noticeably.

Her hands halted in their therapeutic movements. He looked up at her, perspiration dotting his forehead as his chest rose shallowly up and down, surveying her the best he could through the tears of pain obscuring his vision.

"I...I know you didn't," she whispered, looking down at him with a soft gaze. Tender, gentle, all that she was with him, all that he _wasn't_ with her.

"I really didn't," he hissed through gritted teeth, groaning a bit as her practiced fingers continued.

"It's okay. I know."

"No, it's_ not _okay," he retorted so harshly that she seemed taken aback. He was insisting it was his fault, something she was not used to hearing.

"I need to wrap you up," she murmured quietly. He raised himself gingerly and leaned back on his arms, and she remained immobile for a moment, still straddling him. Nothing covering her but that little towel.

Somehow, without moving from her position, she was able to reach the gauze and carefully wrap his chest, smoothing the bandages taut against his barely–healed skin. Placing it aside, she trailed her fingers down the tight bindings across his ribs and whispered, "You should be fine, now. Just don't overdo it." Knowing perfectly well that he would, for some reason.

Nodding curtly, he ignored the dull pain, now subsiding, unable to stop his hand from brushing damp, long locks that had been obscuring her glowing face. Annoying, it was, as was the intoxicating scent of her shampoo invading his senses. He leaned forward, wincing slightly, and placed his forehead against hers just to touch some part of her warm, flushing flesh, murmuring–

"Thank you."

Habitually nudging her neck and collarbone with his nose, she felt his soft locks brush her cheeks gently.

"You should get going," she breathed, hating the words, true as they have may have been. She wanted to sit there on that cold bathroom floor and let him continue those lavish ministrations, teasing her and pleasuring her and muttering all those words he'd never say in public against her warm skin. She wanted to let him crave her, just like he always wanted to but never had the chance. She wanted no one to know where they were and wonder about their disappearance, and they'd have no idea. She wanted him to press her body against the nearest door and nip at that one little spot that made her whine. She wanted him to touch her 'til the sun went down and the room would be thrown into darkness.

She didn't want to leave.

Above all, she didn't want to be herself. Not one of the most powerful kunoichi, trained under a Sannin, or a medic. Not a shinobi. Not Sakura Haruno. Just a girl with a guy, without anything to live up to, or anyone to tell them a thing.

"Go on," she whispered, carefully climbing off him. "You'll be late."

"You–"

"I have to lock up. Go."

He nodded. She helped him stand and flashed a fake smile, turning away from his piercing gaze as she shut the door. On the other side, he did not move.

Leaning her body against the door, she pulled the towel over her breasts and whispered, "Sasuke–kun. _Go_."

It was another minute before she heard his footsteps echo down the hallway, heavy yet tentative, walking further away from her.

**Whatever happened here...I never meant to hurt you...**

**How could I cause you so much pain?**

* * *

**Tap. Tap. Tap.**

The young man behind the bars did not bother to raise his head, nor did the man sitting in the shadows. The latter fiddled with a small, thin object in his hands, but his dark, glittering eyes followed the armed shinobi that walked past their cell.

"For a woman, she's damn heavy," the guard grumbled, though it was only a girl's body carelessly slung over his shoulders, treated like a useless sack. An ANBU mask was attached to his belt. To the prisoners' surprise, the guard unlocked their cell and wrenched the door open; the physical condition of the males inside was no threat and would most likely remain that way. Many tries, many attempted escapes, all ending with a severe beating by the man with the bloody eyes himself. At this point, they were running out of options, though their captor was considerate enough to let the bearded man smoke.

A quiet, muffled "Ohh," was heard as the girl's body hit the stone floor, head hitting the ground loudly. The young man surveyed her intently and almost apprehensively, for that one single syllable...it sounded too familiar.

**CHHK.**

Tiny sparks flared in the corner of the cell, though they flickered and were only used to light the man's cigarette, which he gratefully smoked.

"You'd do better to bring that over here," the young man said crossly, in a way that suggested he'd always been one to order others around. His white eyes flashed in the darkness.

The girl moaned again, presumably in pain, and the shinobi sighed, muttering... "Byakuugan."

The familiar symbol etched in the metal glinted, and he held his breath as his eyes glittered, surveying the girl silently. Senbon. Some were her own, even; embedded in her neck and torso. Paler than he'd ever remembered, and after the obvious beating she'd taken, her hair had still managed to stay in that feminine hairstyle, those two little familiar brunette buns.

He gathered her upper body in his lap, looking down at her with a disgusted expression. This was how she'd ended up.

Gritting his teeth, he deftly removed a senbon from her collarbone and let it hit the floor; his companion looked up.

"What are you–?"

"It's...Tenten."

The girl whimpered and turned her face into the boy's chest, breathing shallowly. There was no color in her face. Hand fairly steady, he removed another from her flesh and continued, more tenderly than he had ever been with anyone.

The man in the corner got to his feet and walked over, staring down at them with deep concern; the look on the boy's face was set in frightening stone. Anger. Shadowed eyes and thin set lips.

"Why?"

The man rose his head, took a long drag on his cigarette, but did not answer.

Brushing a strand of loose hair from her face, the white–eyed boy slammed his fist against the stone, fingers clenched, knuckles white.

_Why her? _

* * *

The village was awakening to it's humble morning routine, but few noticed the well–known apprentice sitting on the bench near the gates. Despite her notoriety, this morning, out in the comings and goings of the people, she was as solemn and sedate as the rest of them. Overall morale was low. She sat, slumped under the flickering beam of the streetlight. 

That same bench. The one that he'd had the decency to leave her upon, thinking of the two words he had never said.

_I'm sorry._

His kusanagi gently hit his thigh with every step, nestled comfortably in it's sheath. The stiff bindings beneath his attire held his ribs in place. Tentative footfalls on the stone path caught her attention and she immediately felt a rush of guilt, for they were supposed to leave before the sun had risen and here she was, sitting on a bench. Knee–deep in pity that she wholeheartedly expected him to scold her for.

He sat next to her, turning his face away so she would not see his grimace of pain, for he did not want her pity or her care. Hand resting upon the cold seat, inches away from hers. Both clad in black gloves with pale fingers.

"I remember–"

Sakura stiffened, ready for the painful memory she was about to be forced to endure, relive; why was he bringing this up now?

"–when you used to smile."

She hadn't expected that. She turned to stare in puzzlement at him, but he was intensely interested in the leaf skittering across the stones. Anyone would think he was just speaking in hopes of a civil conversation, but she saw the way his eyes narrowed slightly and his back hunched a bit, as if shielding himself. He would never stand up tall and admit the things that made him cry. Those things he only uttered to her at his lowest points. Pride was of the utmost importance, and he would not have anyone think otherwise.

"I'd watch you, when you did. And I'd wonder how."

"How I..." Sakura trailed off, unsure of what he was getting at. "Smiled?"

"You made it look so easy. Naruto would make a decent joke, and you would smile. Kakashi would be late, and you would shake your head, but smile. Hell, rain made you smile."

Chancing a glance at him, she saw his fingers, still resting not too far from hers, twitch. As though he'd thought to move of them of his own accord.

"Even in class, before I'd even been on your Genin team, you would smile at everything."

His fingers moved again. Closer.

"And then...you started smiling at me."

A wistful, sad smirk appeared on his face, and it seemed to take an enormous effort to slide his fingers over hers, linking them through protectively.

"But I didn't deserve all that. You were always there when I needed you, and when I didn't. Or...said I didn't."

"Sasuke–kun, don't say that," she whispered, turning her body and holding their hands in her lap. "I did all that because I wanted you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted for you!"

"I never wanted you to get into this. This...fucking mess."

"And," he added quietly, turning to look her in the eye. He tightened his grip on her fingers, biting his lip quite hard, unable to find his next words. Knowing better than to press him, she let him sit in brooding silence as the sun continued to rise and the people continued to pass them as they headed for their morning destinations. A few were surprised to see _the_ Uchiha Sasuke, the traitor, sitting on a bench with the Hokage's apprentice, staring her in the eyes without speaking. Holding her hand, nonetheless.

A shrill squeak of surprise turned quite a few heads, and they couldn't help but stare.

After all, it wasn't often that the stoic bastard Uchiha, object of too many girls' affections' to count, grabbed a girl and crushed his lips against hers without a warning. And when she responded eagerly, pulling him closer by latching her hands onto his shirt and returning his sudden, fierce display of affection, well _hell_, it was practically entertainment.

Running her fingers down the side of his face, she moaned quietly as he tasted her fully, attacking her with almost carnal desire, meeting her tongue for the esurient passion of one held back too long. She welcomed him without regret or hesitation, wrapping her fingers in his dark locks and pulling him against her completely. Capturing her bottom lip in both his own, using his teeth to earn her breathless moan; it wasn't so difficult to know what she liked. Bruises never bothered her.

"I'm...sorry," he whispered, though it was more a of a seductive, low growl than anything; he did not wait for her response as he kissed her again, pressing his weight against her. She relented and her body fell back, flat on the bench, while her fingers positively tugged on his hair, using it as leverage to continue tasting his tongue. Hard, passionate, raw. Her breath hitched and she let her head fall back against the seat, licking her lips.

_I'm sorry I've hurt you._

_I'm sorry I love you._

"I forgive you," she exhaled, speaking every syllable against his burning lips. Breathing stilted, completely stolen by his sudden act. Jade eyes sparkling in the glow of the still flickering streetlight, she pressed her lips to his once more. Chest rising heavily, color high in her cheeks.

"Good."

Giggling, she punched him lightly in the ribs for his bluntness (he winced) and she screeched as he shoved her off the bench. Her back hit the ground and she squealed loudly, attracting quite a bit of attention as he smirked predatorily down at her, straddling her comfortably. Struggling not to laugh as she felt her burning, swelling lips, pink locks splayed across the multi–colored stones. There was an air of tense apprehension that Sakura was intent on understanding.

"Sasuke–kun..." she began. Looming over her ominously, he placed one hand near her head to steady himself.

He didn't answer, but instead leaned down to touch his lips to hers.

He hesitated.

"I really do forgive you, you know," she said softly. Tenderly placing her hand to his face, she stared into him, remembering every time he had caused her pain. Every time he'd called her annoying, every time he'd said to stay away. And to think now, he was learning to love her back...

**Say you won't leave me...**

**Will you believe in me?**

"I can't undo...what I've done," he murmured. _But I can try. _

"Sasuke–kun."

He held himself inches from her face, barely able to stay away from her. To not touch her. To not hold her. Something buried so deep in darkness cried for a little reassurance.

A part of him yearned for _her._

"It's going to be okay."

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close and spoke against his lips once again, seductively, breathlessly:

"So kiss me, you bastard."

He did not care who was watching, he did not care about anything else, and he certainly did just as she asked without any second thoughts. An Uchiha, priding loyalty above all else, his loyalty to her.

Of course, perhaps it was only luck that he was just damn good at leaving her breathless.

This seemingly impossible scene unfolding, leaving the citizens of Kohona in stunned silence as they watched. Not only would this gossip fly quickly...

Ah, such beautiful mood swings.

* * *

Hinata was the first to spot them coming from a distance. Squinting in the sunlight that brightened and thrived with every passing second, she placed a hand above her eyes and spotted them. 

"Naruto," she whispered. "There they are."

The blonde followed her gaze, cerulean eyes narrowed against the brightness, and his face broke into a wide grin. Perhaps the difference was noticeable from so many feet away; Hinata could tell.

Now Tsunade turned, taking a step forward, along with Ino and Shikamaru. An unfamiliar woman hung back nervously, unaware of the proceedings or whom they were waiting for to complete the group.

The couple walked mockingly slow, side by side, Sasuke's expression normal: Serious, placid, insufferably pretentious, while Sakura, low and behold, was smiling. The difference was subtle and strange and yet particular and precise in nature. The faint trace of a smirk lingered on his handsome face, but being in present company with strangers he hid it as was his personal, prideful custom. No intertwined fingers, no linked arms, and Sakura rose to her tiptoes and waved, hand moving in a graceful arc for her beloved teammates and mentor, apparently not taking notice of the docile stranger.

They didn't need all that.

_And we're standing in the middle of nowhere...of nothing and everything..._

Sasuke noticed how even on her tiptoes, she would still be so much shorter than him.

"Hurry up, Sakura–chan!" Naruto called gaily, waving both his arms back and jumping up and down ecstatically, an excited child.

Sakura turned her back on the group and took Sasuke's gloved hands, pulling him along in a vain effort to increase his speed, or perhaps put him in a sunnier mood. Rolling his eyes pretentiously, he purposefully dragged his feet with a smirk, for which he earned a giggle and a poke in the ribs.

Eventually they drew level with the small gathering of shinobi and faced Tsunade's towering form, along with her obvious expression of disapproval.

"Taking after your sensei's bad habits, I see."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow while Sakura stared at him out of the corner of her eye, deliberately implicating the Uchiha for their late arrival.

"Bad habits? I'm inclined to disagree, Hokage–sama," Kakashi mused, rubbing his chin in mock thought as he strolled up to them, appearing to come from the direction of the village.

"What's _your_ excuse?" Tsunade demanded impatiently.

"Saying goodbye. Oh, and there was the most _fascinating_ entertainment–"

Sakura's knuckles cracked ominously and the famous Uchiha glare was, in full, glaring glory, burning into the side of Kakashi's face, and their dear sensei left it at that.

The blonde Sannin pursed her lips in obvious disfavor to the jounin's weak justification, then turned to the stranger, placing herself out of the group as not to intrude. They seemed quite nervous, but Tsunade kindly beckoned her forward and did the same to Sasuke and Sakura. The medic took a few steps forward while the dark–haired shinobi hung back awkwardly.

"This is Yuna, the mother of the child you and Sasuke kept alive in the compound," the Sannin explained, indicating the young woman that had stepped forward, carrying said child in her arms. An inch or so taller than the medic, waist–length dark locks and tears of gratitude already forming in her coal black eyes. Sakura glanced over her shoulder and tugged on Sasuke's sleeve, then inclined her head in grave respect to the woman.

Yuna rushed forward and threw her arms around Sakura, catching her by surprise as the child was crushed between them; he smirked in a very reminiscent way and quirked his little eyebrow at Sasuke, who returned it with a playful scowl.

"My only child...I cannot thank you enough," Yuna whispered, letting go, sweeping the back of her hand across her dark eyes and attempting a weak smile at Sasuke, who nodded politely and stepped forward to touch Sakura gently. Splaying his strong fingers across the small of her back and reminding her to keep her slowly breaking composure as she bowed her head quickly, hurriedly sweeping her fingertips across her eyelids.

"He was sweet," Sakura murmured, smiling at Yuna.

"And an ace at poker–OW!" Hinata, thankfully, had the sense to step on Naruto's foot; Sasuke sighed while Sakura mentally wrote a reminder. _Hit him for that._

"Well then," Tsunade interjected. "I think it's time for all of you to get going."

The two shinobi inclined their heads in unison and backed away, letting the Sannin take the floor.

Inhaling deeply, she marshaled her thoughts, running a hand through her long blonde locks and shaking her head in deepest regret. Standing before the six young shinobi and one aging jounin, she sighed.

"I'm really sorry...that it's come to this. It's obvious that this is a mission of the highest ranking. The most dangerous thing you will most likely ever have to do in your entire career...or life."

They stood in pairs with stiffened resolve and thick skins, with sad and heavy and bruised hearts. Six young shinobi thrown headfirst into the dangerous world that, in comparison, was rarely explored. They knew the intricacies of life behind their towering, gated and intimidating walls.

It was time to brave what lied beyond them.

"You are the best our village has to offer. You are the most experienced. You have endured every grueling task thrown at you, in life and in the way of shinobi, and now you will be put to the ultimate test."

Naruto nodded firmly, cerulean eyes staring at his Sannin. Hinata glanced down and saw her white, shaking fingers intertwined with his, the comforting clasp of his tan, calloused hand. Expression hardening, she slid her fingers from his grasp and the blonde watched as she seemed to lift her chin with something that he knew was confidence.

"I won't lie to you: Your lives are constantly on the line. There is no second you will be safe. You will be forced to use every skill you have to survive, or to gather information. And sometimes you will be forced to...kill."

Shikamaru stared determinedly ahead, that dedication and loyalty he seemed to call upon when the time was right. When it was needed. Ino cast him an admiring look, then nodded also, her azure eyes narrowed.

"And even so...not all of you may make it home alive."

Sinking swiftly into every mind, a fact known from the day they signed their name on the dotted line, kicking the playground ball underneath the bush and emerging with a shiny kunai. The abrupt night and day change from innocent child to a licenced murderer. Heard time and time again, written across the blackboard one thousand one times so everyone would remember. A fact that had become inevitable and came with the prestigious title of shinobi.

"Remember all that you're fighting for," Tsunade murmured quietly. Falling into a serene silence in which nothing was heard but the panicked thoughts of a million people, those people they fought to protect. They wanted to live another day, and these handpicked ninja, trained to kill, would give and defend and die...for the lives of so many others.

"Haruno, Uchiha," she addressed sharply; both rose their heads in acknowledgment, but the Sannin was gathering her thoughts once again, eyes softening as she watched the shinobi holding onto one hovering, bated breath. Sasuke's fingers slid around the curve of the medic's waist and tightened convulsively, yet reassuringly. Tsunade watched this with a solemn gaze, observing the reactions of the shinobi standing behind them.

"Play your part. And...be careful."

"We will, Tsunade–sama," Sakura replied. Even though it wasn't how she felt, she gave her mentor a wide smile and turned to face her teammates, letting that infectious smile, no matter how much of a vain attempt at happiness it was, spread. Affecting each and every shinobi facing her, putting that little smile on Hinata's face, the grin underneath Kakashi's mask, and Naruto's boyish grin.

"Good luck," Tsunade added, waving them away as if ridding her hands of troublesome children. Her grin told them otherwise. "Now go on!"

Naruto punched his fist into the air, jumping in excitement. "ALL _RIGHT_!" he burst out, sending a flock of frightened sparrows twittering away, into the crimson sunrise they were facing. That they would run to in discovery and fear and never–wavering hope and would illustrate the path taken from now on. The inevitable race against the unknown, against time.

As the shinobi began to walk through the gates, Sasuke turned Sakura to him roughly, staring down at her intensely with his fingers still pressing on the small of her back.

"What I said...didn't sound very apologetic." It was a statement.

Sakura grabbed hold of the front of his shirt and rose herself on tiptoes, stretching to whisper in his ear despite being a few inches too short. "But I knew you meant it." Letting her eyes fall closed, she breathed, "Besides, maybe I _don't _like you gentle."

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke was able to keep a straight face as he swiftly slid his arm around her waist and lifted her easily, throwing her over his shoulder. Everyone else turned to watch as she laughed loudly, latched onto the back of shirt by wrapping the material around her fingers. Seemingly unaffected, he turned with a barely concealed smirk and began to walk out of the gate, dark eyes glittering in the sunlight as she pounded on his back.

"Sasuke–kun, I'm capable of walking!"

The dark–haired shinobi halted abruptly and she out a squeal, jerking as though he would drop her. Looking away, so no one could see the amused grin on his face that faltered slightly as she pounded him a little harder.

"Relax," he muttered, glancing back at her flushed face. Jade eyes stared up at him with some surprise at his bold actions and at his next words... "You know I'd never let you fall."

With that, he leaned forward and she slid off, catching her protectively around the waist as her feet hit the ground.

She stared at him a for a long moment, aware of the others staring at them with amused smirks or blank expressions of surprise, and perhaps this was the reason she took him by the shirt and pecked him gratefully on the cheek. Before he could react, however, she ran behind him and jumped on his back, latching her arms around his flushed neck and pointing to the sunrise.

"Look how far Naruto is ahead," she whispered against his burning ear, tightening her legs around his waist.

Right on cue, the blonde raised his arms above his head and waved them in an obnoxious, attention seeking manner, yelling, "Oi teme! Slowpoke! Let's go!"

Scowling darkly, Sasuke jogged forward and Naruto turned, dragging Hinata along by the wrist as he started sprinting. "You'll never catch up to _me_!" he boasted, and Sasuke lowered his head, grinning. Ignoring any pain in his ribs for the sake of pride.

Sakura felt his body tense in her grasp, heard the low, guttural chuckle vibrating in his throat, felt his hands tightly, protectively, grip under her thighs. Glancing over her shoulder one last time, she raised a hand in a parting to Tsunade and let out a shriek of surprise as the stubborn, skilled, arrogant man took off.

The world was three: Her. Him. And speed.

She clung to him tightly as they raced past people, visible only as blurs, and her breath was stolen from her lungs, leaving her thoroughly exhilarated. As she stared into the slowly rising sun, golden and pink and burnt sienna streaks across the sky, long hair whipping in the wind created only in the wake of his incredible speed, she let out a laugh. A real, genuine laugh that had not been heard or felt in so long it left her reeling from the experience. Laughing, when they could very well be running to their deaths.

It was crazy, _she_ was crazy, but hell, who wasn't?

--

**When I say I will always be there...will you believe?**

**--**

So watch them run into the vibrant colors of dawn.

As their silhouettes are swallowed by the bloodstained horizon...

--

**T**_o_ **B**_e_ **C**_0_n**T**_inu_**E**_d._


End file.
